The Cashmere Lining
by Average Prevailer
Summary: When Serenity is forced to work for Seto, the only problem she thinks she'll have will be putting up with him. But the lifestyle of Domino's elite is crazy and hectic, and soon Serenity realizes it may not be one she wants to be apart of.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Noting is mine. **

The music thundering around Serenity was so loud the girl was sure she would be deaf by the time she left, but leaving the party was definitely worse than having to use a hearing aid the rest of her life.

"Oh my God, Renny!" Stacey Goldstein yelled, making Serenity cringe. She was even more drunk than usual. "You have to meet this boy Dan-"

"Dave." A dark-haired boy she was clinging onto grunted. Stacey ignored him.

"He's, like, so perfect for you! And, he's, you know, like, _really _cute." Stacey gushed. She tried to walk further towards Serenity, who was sitting on a windowsill in Lars Valvor's townhouse, but stumbled over a fallen lamp. Serenity sighed. She wasn't really in a party mood.

"Thanks." Serenity said, trying to smile at her friend, "But I think I'll just-"

"No! No, no, no! Renny! Dance with Dan!" The blonde whined, stomping her black heel on the floor.

"No, really," Dave shook his head, he tried to yank his hand away from Stacey, but her grip was too tight to escape, "I'm fine. I, uh, I've already got a girlfriend anyway, so, uh…" Dave offered Serenity an apologetic smile. "I'm sure your cool, but Ingrid and I are serious and all."

"It's not me I'm worried about." Serenity laughed. Dave turned to Stacey who was holding one of the books she'd pulled off the shelf beside Serenity, staring intently at it. "But she seems pretty distracted now if you want to…" Serenity let her voice trail off and tilted her head to the door.

"Thanks." Dave smiled. "I'll see you around… Renny, was it?' Serenity nodded.

"Bye." She called as the boy left. She turned her head back to Stacey, who was still staring at the book. Looking closer she could tell it was a yearbook. "Are you alright?" The auburn-haired girl asked her friend.

"Him. I want him, Ren." Stacey breathed. "I always have, I always will." She was pointing to a picture of Chance Wilders, a boy who, though was good looking, had been declared "un-dateable" for reasons unknown to Serenity. Serenity rubbed her temples. She loved her friend like a sister, but she really wasn't in the mood for dealing with her boy drama.

"No you don't," Serenity reminded her friend, "You don't want to date him, remember?"

"No." The blonde replied shortly. Serenity sighed and took a sip of beer out of Stacey's red cup.

"Don't tell me that Stacey, you're turning me into a liability." The blonde ignored her, and flipped the page of the yearbook. Serenity laid her head back against the window.

_I like my friends. _She told herself, almost forcefully. _I like my home, I like my school, this is where I belong. _

As glad as she was her aunt and uncle had offered to keep her while her mother was going through a hard time with money, and all the issues with her father, Serenity's new life was…different from her old one. Both of her relatives were good to her, her aunt Lily loved to shop, and never let a chance to smother Serenity with designer clothed pass, but she sometimes missed how simple things used to be with for herself. Serenity had learned that her new school had a much different view on things than her old one. Though technically there were no uniforms, it was as if the students enforced a self-made dress code themselves. The only clothes worn by them were the most cutting edge possible, anything less may as well have been dirt. Drinking, which had been saved for one lone group of rebels at her old school, was a common thing here. Serenity thought vaguely of how much she'd changed over the last year and a half. The old Serenity wore knee length skirts, wore frumpy sweaters, and the idea of drinking repulsed her. Serenity chuckled darkly, and as if just to shove it to her old self, downed the rest of Stacey's drink.

"Hey," A voice said from the hallway, "We're leaving." Serenity's eyes lifted. Bex Froy was standing in the doorway, her dark eyes expressionless, as always. Serenity stood up without question, she pulled Stacey to her feet. "C'mon, Stacy, let's go." Bex scanned Stacey, her lips turning gently into a frown. "She's trashed." Bex scowled. Serenity didn't say anything, but nodded her head. "She'll slow us down." Was all the brunette said before turning on her heal. Serenity listened to her heals clack down the hallway wearily.

"Bex looked angry." Stacey whispered, the uncertainty in her voice noticeable.

"She'll be fine." Serenity assured the girl, hoping her words were true. "You need to get up now, I think it's time for us to-" But the rest of Serenity's sentence was drowned out by the wail of sirens coming seemingly out of the blue. For a second it seemed as if the entire house froze. And then there was panic. Serenity grabbed Stacey's arm and started pulling her to the kitchen. Serenity was pretty sure she'd seen a door there. "Wait!" Stacey cried, trying to tug free. "I have to find Chance!" Serenity audibly groaned. She had to pick tonight to start this.

"No, you don't. Now, hurry up." Serenity threw open the side door, thankful Lars's house was on the end of the row. She wished she had time to grab her coat before she left, but escaping the cops was much higher on her list of priorities than being warm. She could bare the cold for a few minutes.

"What about Bex?" Stacey demanded as they trampled down the steps. _Speak of the devil. _Serenity thought as they walked onto the tiny patch of grass. Through the window, Serenity could see the girl, her tan face clutched between the hands of a boy she didn't recognize. He was tan, almost as tan as Bex herself, with short blonde hair, thin lips, and shockingly high cheekbones.

"Bex can handle herself." Serenity replied, and it was true. The girl knew Bex would be fine. She always was. She turned away from the window, glad Stacey hadn't seen what she had.

"Are you sure? Because if we leave her, I think she'll get really-"

"Hey! Stop right there!" Serenity froze. _Oh no. _ She felt her heart beating wildly in her chest as she watched in horror as a young cop approached the two girls. His facial expression was so smug, Serenity could think of nothing she'd like to do more than kick him until the annoying smirk was off his face. Stacey seemed to have noticed that too, because her blue eyes had gone from wide, to dangerously narrowed. She hated being talked down to in any way, shape, or form.

"What do you two think your doing?" He called.

"What does it look like? Stacey snapped. Serenity cringed. She took back anything she'd said earlier about Stacey's sudden personality change. She wanted it back now more than she'd ever thought she would. "We're _trying _to get home. If you'd leave us alone, maybe we could get there." Serenity closed her eyes. She was so dead.

"Have you two been drinking?" The cop demanded.

Serenity opened her eyes to see Stacey roll hers, "Of course we have. What is this, your first bust? It's a _party _what do you think we'd be doing? Playing Duel Monsters?" Stacey sneered.

"Stacey!" Serenity hissed, but she was ignored.

"What about this?" The cop asked, he held up a bag and Serenity clutched Stacey's arm, silently begging her to keep her mouth shut.

"Weed?" Stacey sorted. "Do I _look _like a waspoid?" Serenity shook her head. Toast. She was toast.

"You keep talking to me like that and I'll-"

"What? You'll beat me with your nightstick? Please, the monsters in those cheesy old horror movies are scarier than you are."

Serenity stared up at the sky. She was domed.

*******

"So guess what."

Serenity lay in the park with Lars, Bex, Stacey, and Leo. These were the children of her Aunt and Uncle's close friends and had therefore had, in a since, adopted Serenity when she was new in the area. Her question was followed by silence. It was the night after the party-bust and no one was in a particularly chatty mood. "I have to get a job."

Her aunt and uncle had been less than thrilled when the cop (who Stacey had declared their mortal enemy) had dropped Serenity off at their penthouse. Surprisingly, the lecture wasn't _too _long, only about half an hour, and she wasn't even grounded (well, technically she was, but it wasn't currently being enforced) but she had to get a job. And not just a job, which could have been almost fun for Serenity, she could have worked at a little boutique, or a pet shop, but the girl had to have an _approved _job. And, honestly, Serenity had no idea what kind of job that would be. She guessed it meant she'd have to work for someone important, it would have to have high pay, and look amazing on her college resume.

"Are you serious?" Stacey asked, sitting up slightly. Serenity nodded.

"Ouch." Leo said, his eyes till closed. Lars was snoring slightly, but Bex on the other hand was now sitting up straight, studying Serenity as if she'd noticed for the first time.

"I could get you a job." Bex said slowly. "I know someone, he's in desperate need of an assistant." The five were lying on a pile of blankets in the park near Stacey's apartment. It was supposed to be "relaxing" after their long night.

"Really?" Serenity asked, brightening instantly. If Bex knew him, Serenity was sure he must be on the accepted employer list.

"Yes." Bex nodded, "I can set up an interview with him, if you'd like." Bex eyes seemed far away, and though her tone was friendly, or rather, as friendly as she ever sounded, her jaw was clenched, as if she was in pain.

"That would be amazing, Bex! Thank you so much!" Serenity couldn't believe how lucky she was. Didn't you usually have to hunt for a job? How easily this one had just fallen in her lap! That, Serenity had to admit, was another perk to living this life. Things the girl would have had to work day and night for, or save money for an eternity for just seemed to come to her. It was nice, really. And such a change, Serenity realized, she was starting to adjust to that, if she hadn't already.

"Well then." Bex stood up, "I'll be right back. I'm going to call him now, I'm guessing the sooner you start the better." And then she sauntered off to a corner somewhere Serenity couldn't quite see as it was shielded by a large thicket of trees.

"What do assistants do?" Serenity asked. She realized she had forgotten to ask simple things like that before agreeing, but Bex wouldn't set her up for something if it were too awful. Bex could be demanding, and a bit difficult in a way to be around, but she wasn't cruel.

"My Dad's does paperwork." Lars offered, who apparently had woken up at some point during the conversation.

"I can do that." Serenity decided. Yes, paperwork. She could spend a few hours after school working behind a desk, drinking coffee. She could handle that.

After a few minutes, Bex came back, her face blank. "You've got an interview. It's this afternoon, in about two hours."

"Two hours? I- Okay, cool. Wow. Two hours, okay. I can do that. Yeah." Serenity started pacing up and down along the edge of their pallet of blankets and towels.

"Don't freak out on us now, Ren." Lars smiled as Serenity mentally went through a list of everything she'd need.

"What are you going to wear?" Stacey asked. She tipped her head to the side in thought. "Oh my God, we should totally go shopping! I mean, what a good excuse, you're getting a _job! _Def. a biggie." Stacey giggled. "We should totally go to Naz. They'll have something perfect. They always do." Serenity ignored Stacey. Shopping wasn't the first thing on her mind. What questions would she be asked? How would she answer them? What if she totally blanked? What if-"

"Who is this interview with, anyway?" Leo frowned. He lifted his head to stare at Serenity, who had a look of shock on her face. Who was this job with anyway?

"I don't… I- Oh crap." Sure he was be approved by her aunt and uncle, but who was he? Or she.

"Isn't that something you should of found out _before _you agreed to this?" Leo asked, one of his eyebrows raised. Serenity stood in silence. He was right of course.

"He's a friend of my families." Bex replied. "He's," Bex paused. "Manageable." She finished finally, "If you know how to deal with him. It's an easy once you know how." Bex opened her leather bag and pulled out a slip of paper. She handed it Serenity, who read it over and over again.

"It's just an address." Bex told her after a minute, an annoyed expression on her face.

"I know that." Serenity frowned. "It just seems sort of familiar." Where would she have been though? She'd never had a job in Domino before. She stared at the paper again, but nothing came to her.

"I must just be imagining things." Serenity told her friends. "When is the interview again? Two hours? Okay, so if it's at three than I should probably-" Serenity froze. She knew where she had seen that address before. She'd never been there personally, but she knew it from her brother.

" '_Dat humungous building on Eigth Street, whatza number? 467? Well, 'dat's Kaiba's building. Never go in dare Ren, I wouldn't trust 'dat creep, worth ah flip." _

"I, um, Bex?" Bex lifted her eyes. "What's this guy's name?" Serenity asked.

Bex ran her fingers through her dark, silky hair. "His name's Seto. He usually goes by his last name though, Kaiba. Have you really not heard of him?"

"I have." Serenity replied shortly. Though the others leaned forward slightly at this (Serenity was pretty sure they were born with a sixth sense; Always being able to tell when there's gossip) Bex didn't say anything back, her drown eyes were focused on the screen of her cell phone.

"I have to go." She said after a minute. Bex through her phone in her bag, but abounded all of her other belongings as a small silver car Serenity didn't recognize pulled up to the road closes to them. She walked, as slow as always, over to the vehicle and flung herself into the car, not saying a word to the driver.

"Don't do it." Lars warned when Bex had sped off. "I'm serious, don't."

"Why not?" Serenity asked, though truthfully thinking the same thing. She just wanted her thoughts to be re-enforced, Serenity would feel a little better if she'd simply been talked out of the interview rather than throwing it away herself.

"Because," Leo told her, taking over Lars's spot in the discussion, "Kaiba has two assistant spots. His assistant, and his _personal _assistant." He said as if this explained everything.

"And?" Serenity drug out the word, staring at her friends, she was growing more and more nervous about her upcoming interview as the seconds went on.

"And your most likely interviewing for the spot of personal assistant, seeing as the main assistant position is usually reserved for big favor purposes only." Serenity wondered what "big favor purposes" meant, but decided not to press the matter.

"I don't understand, what's the difference between the two?" Serenity flopped down on the grass, trying to hide her nerves from her friends.

Leo cleared his throat. "Well, his assistant does normal things, his personal assistant…"

"Is basically his slave." Lars finished bluntly. "I wouldn't do it, Ren." He warned.

Slave? What? Serenity rubbed her eyes with her fists. She could already start to feel the stress hammering at her shoulders.

"That sounds… weird." Serenity scowled. She had changed since she had last seen Kaiba, that night on the blimp. She had been so _weak _then. Serenity shuddered. She looked different now too, maybe he wouldn't recognize her at all. It had been a couple of years since then.

"Are you still going to go?" Stacey asked. She was lying in her back, a pair of sunglasses on her face so big you could hardly see any other features. Serenity raised an eyebrow. It wasn't exactly sunny outside.

"I don't know. Kaiba's not someone I'd really want to work for." The brunette admitted. In fact, he was close to the last.

"But you have to!" Stacey whined, she flipped over on her stomach tot stare at Serenity, or at least Serenity assumed she was. It was hard to tell behind the enormous bug-eyed sunglasses the blonde was sporting. "The interview was already set up, and stuff. You have to go so we can go to Naz and shop for an outfit!" Serenity shook her head. Why her?

"Don't bother, Ren." Lars scoffed, "Kaiba's a total asshole. Why would you want to work for _him?" _

"Well," Serenity started, "Do you have any other ideas? I'm open to pretty much anything."

"Err, no. Not exactly."

Serenity plucked blades of grass as she thought. The discussion with Lars and Leo was supposed to confirm that there was absolutely no way she should even attempt to work for Kaiba, and they had assured her it would be torture, but Serenity couldn't help think back to the night on the blimp. She thought of Kaiba's smirking face. Serenity would love to be able to show him he couldn't treat her like that any more. The time she could be walked over was gone, right? Right! And who better to prove that to than Kaiba himself?

"I'm going." Serenity decided. Even she couldn't believe what she was saying.

"You're funeral." Lars sighed with a shake of his head, sending his blonde hair flopping around her face.

"Yay!" Stacey squealed. "That means we can go shopping! My parents won't let me go after last night unless I have a valid excuse. I really have to load up."

_He probably won't even recognize me. _Serenity assured herself. Yes, Serenity would be fine. She just had a few more months before she'd go back to living with her mother anyway. _Just a few months, _Serenity took a deep breath, _I can last that long. _

The girl stood up and gathered her things. She just hoped her thoughts were right, if not she was in for six months of hell.

**A/N First chapter! Um, I'm really excited to start this, I have a feeling it's going to be fun! Serenity may seem a little OOC at first, but don't worry, I have a plan for that. On that note, she won't be quite as goody-goody as she is usually portrayed. **

**Guess that's all, thanks for reading, sorry for any mistakes, please review, and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!! **

** ~ Average Prevailer~**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Nothing recognizable belongs to me. **

Serenity couldn't believe what Stacey had talked her into. She was actually wearing _this? _To a job interview? Serenity shuddered. Why was she going through with this?

"But I won't actually see Kaiba, right? I mean, he's probably way too busy, or something like that."

"Oh, no." Leo laughed, "You're seeing Kaiba alright. He interviews his assistants personally. He doesn't think anyone else can do the job right." Serenity groaned. She wanted the job for sure, but the thought of working with Kaiba…. Well, she didn't like that idea too much.

"Your outfit is perfect." Stacey crooned. Well, of course she would think so. She picked it out herself. Then again, Serenity wasn't too surprised about that. All of her outfits seemed to be chosen for her now. The girl couldn't hardly remember the last time she'd been allowed to wear something she'd picked out.

"I should probably go now." Serenity sighed. "I'm guessing Kaiba wouldn't like it if I was late." After sating good-bye to her friends, Serenity hailed a cab and started over to the Kaiba building.

Joey had been right when he had said the building was huge. It towered over Serenity, making her feel like an ant in comparison. She pushed through the revolving door and stood in the entranceway, frozen in awe. It was gorgeous, and busy. People were running all over, no one giving Serenity a second glance.

"Are you the interviewee?" A small man dressed in all black asked.

"Um, I think so." Serenity told him, offering a small smile.

"Oh, thank God." He sighed, "You're early! How marvelous!" He immediately spun around, and started walking in a rapid pace, which Serenity was struggling to keep up with. "The other assistant is supposed to show you around, of course," The little man said darkly, "But as she has, yet again, failed to show up." The man shook his head. "I can't wait until that little twit it out of here." He mumbled under his breath. "Anyway," He continued, much louder this time, "If you need anything, my name is John. I'm guessing this is your first trip here?" Serenity nodded. "Oh, good! I get to be the first one to show you around!" Serenity was thoroughly relieved. She wasn't exactly expecting hospitality when she came. "Now, up here," John told her while stepping off the elevator they had just boarded, "Is mostly where the people who work more on the gaming parts of Kaiba Corp. work. Serenity looked around to see a bunch of boys with shaggy hair, dressed in what Stacey called "nerdy chic" complete with the fashionable black-rimmed glasses.

They were doing nothing, as far as Serenity could tell. Just sitting around the desk, throwing crumpled up paper balls into the waste paper basket.

"Have any of you guys seen Murphy?" John asked, his voice full of exasperation.

The group shook their heads in unison. "Not since Tuesday." One of them piped. The others snickered and John rolled his eyes. "That child… I swear I'm going to laugh the day she's finally canned." Serenity wondered vaguely what happened last Tuesday, but decided not to ask.

"Those are the four S's," John explained. "That's Samuel, Stan, Steve, and Seth."

"Hi." Serenity smiled. They all smiled back.

"Are you really taking on the job of Kaiba's assistant? Samuel asked.

"Well, I'm hoping to." Serenity told the boy. "Who knows if I'm actually going to get the job?" Serenity shifted nervously at the thought.

"Well, considering you were sent here by that Froy girl," A voice came from the elevator, "Chances are, you're in." A tall girl with dark curly hair walked out of the elevator, an annoyed expression on her face. She turned to the four S's and asked, "Why is Kaiba such an asshole? Seriously, I don't get it." The boys smirked but didn't say anything.

"Maybe," Came John's voice, "It's because you're _four hours _late. Again." The girl shrugged.

"I just think he was born that way." The girl turned to Serenity and smiled. "I'm Murphy."

"Serenity," She smiled back, "Nice to meet you."

"We should probably get going." Murphy sighed. "That over demanding b-"

"Murphy." John warned.

"What?" She cried, "I was going to say boy! Anyway, he's," Murphy dropped her voice low, "Ready for her now." She imitated. The four S's snickered again. Murphy rolled her brown eyes. "He seriously needs an ego deflation." She turned on her heel and strode back to the elevator. Serenity followed her, waving good-bye to John and the four S's, who all waved back.

"Good luck!" John called as the metal doors slid shut.

"Is everyone here that friendly?" Serenity joked. Murphy smiled a bit at this.

"Not the accounting section. Or those guys from marketing." She shook her head. "They're all wound almost as tight as Kaiba himself." She replied. Serenity felt her stomach tighten at his name.

They rode all the way up to the top floor before getting off the elevator. "This is our floor." Murphy told her. "Or, it will be. If you get the job." Murphy gave Serenity a once-over. "Yeah, you're probably fine. Anyway, these are our desks, there's the bathroom over there, and a vending machine to your left." Serenity looked around. It was nice and open, windows lined every wall, and the marble floor gleamed so bright she could see her reflection. "And that," Murphy pointed to a large black door, "Is _his _office."

Serenity couldn't help but to raise an eyebrow. "It's black." She answered flatly.

Murphy laughed. "I know, right. He's so dramatic." The phone rang beside Murphy. She turned to it and rolled her eyes. "Would it kill you to open the door?" She growled into the phone. The girl blinked, then held the phone away from her ear. Serenity could hear a voice pouring out of the receiver. She assumed that it was Kaiba, and he didn't sound happy.

"He's ready for you." She said blankly after she'd slammed the phone down.

"Right," Serenity gulped, "I guess I should go in now."

Serenity pulled open the door slowly, her heart pounding in her chest. When she walked in Kaiba was sitting behind his desk, his fingers flying over the keyboard.

"Mr. Kaiba?" She asked hesitantly. Kaiba glanced up.

"Sit." He said shortly. Serenity obeyed. She thought of how determined she'd been to show the man he couldn't walk all over her anymore. Well, that was going down the drain.

Kaiba stared at her for a minute before asking, "What's your name?"

Serenity froze, she knew he wanted her last name, but she was less than willing to give it. "Serenity." She told him. He raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue. "Um, Wheeler."

Kaiba frowned at her, but said nothing.

"How old are you, and where do you go to school?"

"I'm seventeen, and I go to St. Aarons." She replied nervously.

Kaiba nodded. "How much do you know about Kaiba Corp.?"

"Um, not much." She admitted.

"He paused and looked her up and down. "Serenity Wheeler. Tell me, how did someone like _you _ever get a reference from the daughter of Froy Industries owner?"

Serenity shifted nervously. "We're friends."

"The mutt's sister is a friend of Bex Froy? Somehow I doubt that." He turned back to his computer, ignoring Serenity completely. The girl couldn't help but scowl. He was the same Kaiba.

"Well, what? Are you looking for proof or something? I was with her last night, at this party-thing. She tall, tan, has dark hair and dark eyes. Her favorite label is Mark Jacobs. What else do you want to know? Her social security number?" Serenity huffed.

Slowly, Kaiba turned back to her.

"That's not how one generally speaks to their boss. At least not if they want to stay here long."

Serenity felt her jaw drop slightly. "Are you… Did I get the job?"

"Did Bex really send you?" Serenity nodded. "Then, yes. You got the job."

"Oh, my gosh! Thank you! When do I-?"

"Now." Kaiba cut her off. He grabbed the phone and placed it to his ear. Kaiba dialed a number quickly then said, "Murphy, in. Now."

"That was quick." Murphy smiled as she sat in the seat beside Serenity, who smiled back. "Told you you'd get the job."

"As I was saying," Kaiba glared at Murphy, who was silenced. "Because my other assistant is incapable of handling her job," Here Murphy rolled her eyes. Serenity thought of how Leo had told her usually that job was for big favor purposes. She decided Kaiba must have owed a pretty big favor to keep her around. "You two will be splitting the work."

Serenity frowned slightly. "How exactly will that-"

"Just do as I say," Kaiba said, once again cutting her off, "And you shouldn't have a problem figuring it out."

Serenity glanced at Murphy, who was glowering at Kaiba. "Asshole." She saw her mutter and Serenity silently agreed.

As Kaiba was drowning on about the responsibility of taking this job, Serenity noticed Murphy snake her hand in Serenity's bag. She shot the girl a puzzled look, and only got a smile in return. Murphy too out Serenity's phone, the entire transaction lost on Seto. She looked at something than punched a few buttons on her phone. Murphy tossed the Serenity's phone back to her. Not a minute later she felt it vibrate in her hands.

_Murphy: Congrats on the job! By the way, I've got something to show you after this, you're going to crack up. Trust me. _

Serenity glanced back over at Murphy and gave her a small smile.

"Isn't that right, Murphy?" Kaiba said, much louder than he had previously been speaking.

"Uh… yeah." Murphy smirked and rocked her chair back on its hind two legs. With one swift motion from one of his long legs, Kaiba knocked the chair over, sending Murphy tumbling to the ground. Kaiba smirked to himself as Murphy cursed loudly.

"Murphy will show you the rest." He finished, still smirking.

"Let's go." Murphy muttered. The two walked out of the office and Serenity exhaled loudly.

"That was stressful." She admitted. "He's just as scary as I remember."

"You've met him before?" Murphy asked.

Serenity shrugged. "Sort of." She didn't feel like getting into it now. "What did you have to show me?" Serenity asked.

Murphy grinned. "Oh, yeah. Check this out." She scrambled to the other side of her desk sat down behind her computer. "Pull up a chair."

Serenity did just that. She watched the computer screen load, then after the site came up, couldn't help but to burst out laughing. "An entire site dedicated to Kaiba's love life?"

"Shhh! If he catches us on this site he'll flip. It's supposed to be banned on all Kaiba Corp. computers." Serenity frowned and Murphy explained, "I paid this one guy to un-block it on these two."

"Let me see." Serenity giggled.

_Seto Kaiba, nineteen and CEO of his own company. Without a doubt the most eligible bachelor in all of Domino City…. _

The article continued, each sentence more bazaar than the last. "You've got to be kidding!" Serenity laughed.

"I wish I was. I mean, really. Who would devote an entire site to _him? _I can think of four hotter guys right off the top of my head."

"What are you two doing?" Demanded Kaiba, appearing at his doorway. Serenity had to shield her mouth with her hand to keep from laughing even harder.

"I'm just showing her the company website." Murphy said innocently, only making Serenity laugh more. Kaiba narrowed his eyes.

"Get off. Now."

"What do you mean?" Murphy asked, her eyes wide.

"You know what I mean!" He growled. "Get. Off."

Murphy titled her head to the side. "I don't know what you-"

Kaiba spun the desktop around. "I knew it!" He hissed. "Give me the mouse."

"You know they've updated, they have a picture of you with that one blonde girl you took out to diner last-"

Kaiba grabbed the mouse out of Murphy's hands. "You're going to wish you'd never walked out of that elevator."

"Too late." Murphy chimed. Kaiba shifted the keyboard to where he could reach it.

"There." He stood up straighter.

"You blocked it!" Murphy whined. Kaiba scowled.

"What did you expect me to do?" Without another word he strode back to his office.

"Screw him. Besides, it's still up on yours right? We can look at it more later." Serenity was about to reply when the phone on her desk rang. Serenity frowned. She picked up the phone and hesitantly asked hello.

"Coffee, black." Was all that was said before the line disconnected.

"Murphy?" Serenity called to the curly-haired girl. "Where do I get the coffee? Well, I assume that was Kaiba."

"Right by the vending machine."

"Thanks. Hey, maybe I'll fill it with sugar, just to piss him off."

Murphy turned to Serenity, a surprised expression on her face. She nodded in approval. "Not yet," She suggested, "You've got to earn his trust first."

"Will do." Serenity smiled. She fixed the coffee then headed into Kaiba's office, feeling her heart move faster. "Here you go." Serenity placed the coffee in front of him. Kaiba didn't turn from his computer. "Hn." He grunted.

Did that count as a thank-you? Giving him the benefit of the doubt, she started to walk out when Kaiba said, "You can leave now. Usually, you should come immediately after school. And I mean immediately. You can leave at seven thirty, and not a minute before. Saturdays I want you here at five, in the morning, and you'll leave at the normal time. You have Sundays off."

Seven-thirty? _Five in the morning? _"Right." Serenity said wearily. "I'll remember. Thank you for the job, Mr. Kaiba, I really do appreciate it. I'll see you tomorrow, right after school."

"Hn."

"See you tomorrow." Serenity called over her shoulder as she gathered her things.

"You get to leave now? Aw, no fair!" Murphy whined. "Ah, well. I'll just kill time alone. See you tomorrow."

Serenity called a cab once again. "Hey, Stacey." She said into her phone.

"Oh my God! Serenity! Did you get the job? Please tell me you got the job?"

"Yeah, I actually, I couldn't believe it, but-"

"That's so great! Oh my God, Serenity! I'm so happy! God, Bex has been calling for, like, the last _hour _demanding to know if you got the job. I mean, like, how could I have known? But, so, anyway, Leo called. He's having a little get together tonight. It's just going to be us."

"I don't know, Stacey, I've got to work to-"

"We're all meeting at Leo's apartment at eight. His parents are gone, I think they're in, like, St. Barts or something. Some sort of second honeymoon? What matters is that their gone and Leo has the key to the liquor cabinet. And-"

"Stacey. It sounds great, but I've got my first day of work tomorrow. Some other night, okay? Serenity slumped back in the chair of the cab. She really did want to go.

"Aw! Are you sure? We could totally end it early."

Serenity opened her mouth to agree, but something stopped her. "I better not, Stace. You know, first day and all that stuff. But I'll see you tomorrow at school okay?"

"Alright." Stacey sighed. "I'll take an extra shot for you."

"You do that." Serenity smiled. "See you tomorrow."

"Bye."

Just as she put her phone back in the cab slowed to a stop. Serenity paid the fare and hopped out. She was working for Kaiba Corp. Kaiba Corp! Serenity shook her head. She never thought she'd end up working for Kaiba. The girl thought back to the Kaiba-obsessed website and couldn't help but laugh.

She stood outside her building, not quite ready to go inside. She pulled her fuchsia pea coat tighter around her body as the wind picked up. Joey would flip out if he found out. She had to tell him, of course. But maybe she'd just wait to tell him when she was better adjusted to her job…

"Are you coming in, Miss Wheeler?" The doorman at her building, Alan, asked.

"Oh!" Serenity smiled at the man. "Yes, I am, sorry, I was just thinking."

"I understand completely." Alan answered with a smile. Serenity pushed through the revolving door, thinking of how her Aunt an Uncle would react when they told her she'd just landed a job with the most successful company.

"Aunt Lily?" She called at she walked through the door.

"We're in here, Renny!" She trilled. Serenity walked into the gorgeous, modern living room.

"I got a job." She told her aunt.

"Oh my God! Already? Serenity, honey, that's great! Who with?"

"Um, Seto Kaiba." Serenity told her Aunt.

"Seto Kaiba? Serenity! I am _so _proud of you! Kaiba Corp! I just have to tell your uncle, he'll be so pleased! I- Oh, goodness, Renny, did you really wear that?"

"Umm," Serenity glanced down at her unconditional outfit. "No." She lied. "I changed before I came home."

"Oh, good." Her Aunt smiled, looking relieved. "The outfit is cute." She said quickly. "But I think you should dress a little more… classic, for a job of Kaiba Corp."

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind." Serenity assured her aunt.

"Well, we're just going to _have _to celebrate!" Aunt Lily trilled. Serenity wondered if the blonde lady remembered that the job was part of a punishment, but decided not to bring that up.

"Jack!" Lily called, "Jack, did you heat? Serenity got a job!"

Uncle Jack walked in from the kitchen, a grin stretched across his face. "That's great, Ren. And did I hear correctly, at Kaiba Corp.?"

"That's right, babe!" His wife beamed. "Just think how great that will look on her college resume!"

Serenity smiled but didn't say anything. Her mind wasn't truly on college resumes and further job offers. She tried to stay in the conversation, but her mind kept wondering back to her blue-eyed boss. He'd hired her even though she was Joey's little sister. A Wheeler. Weren't they, in his opinion, worth less than dirt? Serenity shook her head. She wouldn't let herself think like that. She could do this. She would work at Kaiba Corp., besides, Serenity thought of John, the four S's, Murphy. She wasn't completely alone. Who knew? Maybe this job wouldn't be so bad after all.

**A/N Thanks for reading! Please review! The update will be here soon! **

**~Average Prevailer~ **


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own nothing recognizable. **

"Seriously, like, who does that?" Stacey flipped her hair over her shoulder and leaned forwards. "I so don't get." She growled. Though Serenity had just been tuning in and out of the conversation, she could tell Stacey was pissed. Apparently Bex had failed to show up to Leo's last night and hadn't told Stacey she wouldn't be there.

"She probably just forgot to text you." Serenity reasoned. She glanced back up at the board and scribbled down what her history teacher had just written.

Stacey scowled. "Maybe. Where is she today anyway?" Serenity looked around and found her friend to be gone.

"I don't know. She must be sick." Serenity glanced at the clock on the wall. Seven more minutes before she started hr first real day at Kaiba Corp.

"Whatever." Stacey scowled. Serenity tugged the hem of her shirt down, an old nervous habit. She wanted school to be over… and then to run home and hide under her covers.

_Yesterday wasn't so bad. _She reminded herself. _But that was just the first day, and it wasn't even a real day. Maybe he- _

"Miss. Wheeler?"

Serenity glanced up. "Yes?" She asked, hearing a few grade-grubbing student snicker while the rest rolled their eyes as them.

"I asked you if you could tell me when the British Raj started?"

"Um, 1863?" The grubbers snickered more.

Mr. Halts sighed. "Maybe next time you could pay closer attention, and you would know that the British rule of India started in not 1863, 18_58._"

"Right, I'll remember that." Serenity replied, shooting a glare at Kay Hopkins, who found Serenity's mistake absolutely hilarious. Serenity slumped down in her seat. She could hardly handle her history class, how was she going to handle Kaiba Corp.?

When the bell rang, instead of leaping out of her seat like the rest of her class, she took her time putting each notebook neatly into her bag, and making sure all if her pencils were in a line, erasers up. It wasn't until she heard Stacey giggling at something Mr. Halts had said did she cringe and stand up.

"Stace, he's a _teacher_!" She'd hissed when she'd practically dragged her out of room 109. " Besides weren't you telling me the other night you were into-"

"Yeah, but he's, like, twenty-something!" She giggled, turning her head to glimpse back at the door. Serenity couldn't help but notice how the rest of Serenity's un-finished sentence had been ignored

"I don't care! He's your teacher, that's wrong Stacey. Very, very wrong." But the auburn-haired girl's words were lost on Stacey. Serenity pulled out her phone and glanced at the time.

"Shit!" She groaned. She had four minutes to get to work. "Look, I've got to go. I'll call you tonight, okay?' Stacey nodded.

"Have fun being a professional worker, or whatever!" Stacey called as Serenity dashed down the hallway. Serenity groaned again as she opened her wallet to find it empty. There goes a cab ride.

The girl ran down the sidewalk, ignoring the cries of protest. After having to turn around several times, and being stopped at several dead-ends, she finally found her way to her building.

"Late on the first day," Murphy smirked, "We really are alike."

"Oh, shut up." Serenity groaned as she sat behind her desk. She dropped her voice and asked, "Did he notice?" To answer her question, Kaiba himself stepped out of his office, and Serenity could tell instantly he wasn't happy.

"You're late." He said simply.

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry I-"

"_I _don't want to hear excuses." Kaiba sneered. Serenity glanced over to Murphy to see her biting her lip in an attempt not to laugh. She met Serenity's eye and winked.

"Right, I'm sorry," She paused, "_Mr. _Kaiba. It won't happen again."

"See to it." The boy growled before returning to his office, shutting the door forcefully behind him.

"Making a show of highlighting his authority. You're a natural." Murphy joked and Serenity smiled. The phone rang beside her, and Serenity sighed. "There he is again."

"You'll get used to it." The brunette responded flatly.

"Hello?"

"Where's Mokuba?" Kaiba demanded.

"I- Mokuba?" Wasn't that his little brother? How would she know where he was?

"Yes, Mokuba." He growled, obviously agitated. "Where is he?"

"I don't know," Serenity said slowly, "Where did you see him last?"

Murphy, who had obviously been listening to the conversation, burst out laughing.

"Don't be impertinent!" Kaiba said coldly, sending a shiver down her spine. "Unless you want me to-"

"Hey, Kaiba," Murphy said, taking the phone from Serenity, "Can I pick him up? Please!"

Murphy waited, then scowled. "That was one time!" She insisted. "I said sorry! Besides, he didn't care!" Murphy scowled further. "You don't have to be rude." Just as she had yesterday, the girl pulled the phone away from her ear as Kaiba yelled. She hung the phone up, scowling.

Just as Serenity was about to ask what was going on, Kaiba walked out of his office. He grabbed Murphy pulled her towards him, and whispered something into her ear that Serenity couldn't hear. The girl turned red, and turned around. "And Murphy," He said with an evil glint in his eye, "I want coffee on my desk. _Now_." Then the man walked back to his office, smirking the whole way.

"I hate him." Murphy mumbled as she walked over to the vending machine area where the coffee was.

"Um, do you mind telling me what's going on? And what am I supposed to be doing?"

"Here," The girl grabbed a pen and a napkin and scribbled down an address and directions. "Mokuba's still at school. He gets out at three, so you've got about ten minutes. You can take him to get food or whatever afterwards, then bring him back here. He'll say hi to his oh-so-wonderful brother, then the driver will take him home."

Serenity frowned. "Why can't the driver just pick him up from school?"

A dark look passed over the brunettes face. "I asked that once and got yelled at for half an hour."

"Right. I'll wonder silently." Serenity waved bye to Murphy, who was dumping sugar packet after sugar packet into her boss's coffee, then called the elevator. She hadn't really ever met Mokuba except for maybe once or twice, but hopefully he wasn't as much of a pill as his big brother.

********

The small raven-haired child bounded beside her, a grin stretched across his face. Murphy's directions had been hard to follow (_turn right at that little building with the doorman with the huge mustache)_ but she'd found Mokuba's school in time to have a minute or two before the children were let out.

"So do you want to get something to eat or, um, something?" She asked, a little nervously. Mokuba had been incredibly sweet so far, but Serenity couldn't help think that if anyone, he could be the one to get her fired.  
"How about some hot chocolate?" Mokuba suggested, "I know a cool little place down here. Seto won't mind," Mokuba said quickly, reading Serenity's expression. "Murphy used to take me to get a snack all the time."

"Alright," Serenity smiled. "Lead the way."

The small café was nice, Serenity realized, and a good get away from Kaiba Corp., though with all of the people huddled around laptops, she couldn't get work too far off her mind. "Two hot chocolates, please." Mokuba beamed at the cashier, who smiled happily back.

"Should I add it to the tab?" She asked. Mokuba nodded.

"Yes, please, Ma'am." Mokuba replied. Serenity raised an eyebrow. Big Kaiba should take a leaf out of his book.

When the lady handed them their hot chocolates (which Serenity noticed had been made much quicker than the other orders) Mokuba led her to a table in the back.

"They've got the best in the city." Mokuba informed her, and after taking a few sips Serenity had to agree.

"Do you mind if I ask you something?" Serenity asked as Mokuba was eating the whipped cream off the top of his cup. "Not at all." He answered.

"What did Murphy do to not be allowed to pick you up after school?"

Mokuba laughed, not noticing the whipped cream mustache he had. Serenity smiled to herself. She usually didn't really like kids, but she had to admit, Mokuba was pretty cute.

"Nothing big. But almost every day she'd try to bring home some sort of stray animal." He smiled, then noticed his dairy-based mustache, blushed, and quickly wiped it off.

After they'd chatted for a while, and polished off their drinks, Serenity pulled out her phone and checked the time.

"We better get going. I can't miss too much. I think your brother would kill me. No, seriously." She said after seeing Mokuba's face, "I was late this morning, if I screw up again he'll probably chop my head off."

"Actually, I prefer to use the electric chair." Came a voice behind Serenity, causing her to jump, knocking over her empty hot chocolate cup.

"Seto!" Mokuba scrambled out of his seat to run to his brother and wrap his arms around his waste. The corners of Kaiba's mouth lifted slightly.

"Sorry, we're kind of taking a while." Serenity mumbled. She was still in slight shock. Did he sneak up on people like that often?

"The driver's waiting for you," Kaiba told Mokuba, ignoring Serenity completely, "You should probably go."

"Can't I stay at the office with you?" Mokuba asked, his eyes wide and hopeful.

"No, you need to do your homework. _Without _distractions." Mokuba sighed, but obeyed. He told Serenity good-bye, and seemingly to Kaiba's dislike, gave his brother another hug before leaving. When he saw Serenity staring at him he said coolly, "Two hugs, is excessive." Serenity laughed at this. Kaiba didn't.

"You're serious?" She managed to ask, still laughing. Kaiba simply stared at her. "I guess so." She muttered under her breath. Kaiba turned around and walked towards the door. Serenity crinkled her brow. Was she supposed to follow? Serenity decided that would be safer.

"Mokuba seems cool."

Kaiba didn't say anything for a minute. "This is your job from now on." He told her. "Just don't try to bring back any squirrels."

_Why, thank-you Serenity. Let's have in depth-conversation about it. And then we can talk about our feelings. And bake cookies. _Serenity smiled to herself. At least she was starting to learn what to expect from her boss. Wait! Did he say squirrels?

"Squirrels? Why would I- oh! Murphy. Don't worry, I don't like rodents."

"Just dogs." Kaiba smirked.

Serenity frowned, confused. "Um, yeah I- you asshole." Would he really be trying to insult her family at any given moment? Probably.

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "Do I really need to remind you that I'm your boss?"

_Damn it. _He had her there. But that so wasn't fair! He would always be able to hold that over her! "You suck." She muttered, staring at the ground.

"And you work for me." Serenity turned her head to see him smirking and scowled. _Jerk_. She was starting to understand Murphy's hatred a little more than she already had.

"Oh my God! Renny!" Serenity turned to see Stacey rushing towards her. "What are you doing? I thought you were, like, working, or whatever!" Before Serenity had a chance to reply, let alone point out that her boss was standing _right beside her_, Stacey continued. "You're totally ditching, aren't you! We should totally head over to Lars's, he's, like, totally stoned right now, but that's cool. I mean, it's not like we haven't raided his booze before when he's whacked out. It's a right of passage." It looked as though she was going to say more, but the girl's eyes suddenly grew and she asked, "Is that... Oh, shit."

Serenity ran her fingers through her hair, her eyes downcast "Um, call me later, Ren. Bye!" And with that Stacey walked off, rather quickly, the multiple shopping bags in her arms banging together. Serenity glanced at Kaiba, to find him looking surprisingly amused.

"I'm guessing that's Lars Vaword she's talking about. I'm sure your brother would love to know the company your keeping."

"How do you know him?" Serenity demanded, "And what do you mean the company I'm keeping? They're my _friends._"

Kaiba stopped walking and smirked at her. "You really are stupid."

"I am _not,_" Serenity growled, feeling anger start to bubble inside her, "Stupid."

"Do you even know how the Vawords make most of their money?' Serenity frowned, taken aback. Did all on his conversations have to revolve around money?

"His Dad is in the oil business." She replied hating how dumb the CEO could make her feel. Kaiba smirked at her answer and resumed walking.

"What?" Serenity called, not moving from her spot, but the CEO didn't answer back. When she'd finally caught up with him, slightly out of breath, she thought perhaps hadn't notice until without even turning to look at her he said, "You're in over your head, Wheeler. You always will be. It's just a matter of time before you screw up and realize I was right all along. "

Serenity didn't reply. Did he mean her job…or her life? Serenity frowned at him. At least she couldn't say her job was boring.

*********

"So, sorry, I like, totally fucked up in front of your boss." Stacey apologized as the two watched Lars try to catch lightning bugs around his head that didn't exist.

Serenity shrugged. "Doesn't matter. I don't think he really cared." Serenity decided to leave out his comment at the end. "What I'm worried about is this relationship you're trying to start. _With our_ _history teacher_." Stacey sighed. Serenity listened as she went on about how she wanted a _mature _relationship, when Serenity cut her off. "Do you really think having a relationship with your teacher makes you mature? I mean, it just sounds stupid to me, Stace. He could get much more than fired if the school found out."

"I agree." Bex said from her spot beside Serenity, "You've done some stupid things before but that… that's worse than just stupid."

"Where have you been all day, anyway?" Stacey demanded. "And no offense, but who are you to talk? You're not exactly the poster child for responsible decisions, are you?" Stacey snarled in return.

"I've been busy." She replied evenly, she had been ready for this question. "And quit being such a bitch. It's annoying." Serenity cringed at this. She hated when her friends fought. But before Stacey could reply, the brunette's phone beeped.

"I have to go." She said as she stood up.

"I'll come with you," Serenity offered, "Lars is smoking more than a chimney and if I stay longer I'm pretty sure my aunt and uncle will notice the smell."

Stacey didn't reply to either of them, but got up and walked to where Lars was sitting, and plopped down beside the boy.

"Let's go." Bex muttered, and Serenity complied. The ride down the elevator was, in Serenity's opinion, incredibly awkward.

"So," Serenity said, "What have you been up to lately?"

"Nothing." Bex replied coldly, then flipped open her phone, her fingers flying over the keypad, singling the conversation was over.

When the two got outside, a blonde boy was leaning against a little silver car. He had been waiting for them. Or one of them, at least. Serenity recognized him immediately as the blonde boy she'd seen Bex with at the party.

"There you are. God, it's about time. Thought you'd never get out." He said.

"I got held up." Bex replied, scowling slightly. "Let's just go. I'll see you later, Ren."

The blonde boy turned his head to Serenity, as if he noticed her for the first time. He stared at her for a moment before turning back to the car.

"I can do it myself, thanks!" Bex snapped as the boy opened the door for her. Serenity frowned. He was just being nice. But when the boy turned around, he was smirking, reminding Serenity heavily of her boss. He jerked his chin up, in some sort of nod, the girl guessed, signaling his good-bye to Serenity.

"Hey! You should get inside! It's dangerous on the streets this late!" The young cop from the other night was walking towards her. Serenity was suddenly very glad Stacey wasn't with her. _He probably won't even recognize me. _Serenity assured herself.

"Oh, I remember you." The cop scowled. _Or not. _"What are you doing?" He asked suspiciously.

Serenity fought the temptations to roll her eyes. He was obviously new to the area, Domino City had the lowest crime rate in the country.

"I was just going home." She replied. She started to walk past him, but was stopped.

"Maybe I should walk you."

"Um, thanks, but-"

"I meant for safety reasons!" He said quickly. Serenity frowned. That was exactly what she thought he's been meaning. Standing under the street light Serenity could see the boy blush, and could tell how young he really was, not more than a year or two older than her.

"Thanks, but I think I'll be okay." Serenity pushed passed him.

"It's dangerous," He protested, "You could be-"

"If it's so dangerous," Someone said from behind Serenity and the cop, "I'll walk her myself."

Serenity spun on her heel to see Samuel, one of the four S's. "Yeah," Serenity nodded. "That'd be nice of you, Samuel." She smiled, mostly to show the cop she at least knew who the boy was.

"Well… I guess that'd be-"

"Bye!" Serenity called as Samuel was already jogging away, pulling her with him. "Thanks." Serenity breathed.

"No problem." Samuel smiled as he brushed a few strands of shaggy black hair out of his face. "I've run in to that guy before, he can be a little… Well, he's something."

"I know what you mean." Serenity muttered darkly.

"Hey, I know its late, but, I- uh, well it's not, uh, _too_ late. Do you get Saturday mornings off? We could go get food or something."

"I don't get Saturday's off, but we could still get something to eat. I mean, with the schedule Kaiba's got me on I probably wont have time to eat tomorrow morning. I should probably get something now." She smiled.

"Food it is, then." The boy smiled back, and Serenity felt her stomach jolt. Who said she was in over her head?

**A/N Thanks for reading! Please review, and thank you to those of you that have! **

**~Average Prevailer~ **


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me. **

"Eiffel tower?"

"Bigger."

"Taj Mahal?

"Bigger."

"This building?" Serenity asked, running out of ideas.

Murphy shook her head. "_Way _bigger."

"What," John asked, adjusting the sleeves of his black turtleneck. "Are you two talking about?"

"The size of Kaiba's ego." Murphy said flatly. John turned his head to the two and frowned.

"You girls!" John scolded. "If he heard you all talking like that…" But Serenity just smiled in return. Her mood had been on a constant high ever since her date with Samuel the previous week. Since then they'd gone out to lunch together almost every day this week, and Serenity had been invited to join their after-work ritual of going to a bar down the road a, as Murphy called it, Kaiba free zone. Serenity could tell why. It was clean, but dark and smoky, filled with people around Serenity's age, the kind of place the girl was sure he would consider himself above.

As it turns out, with the work being divided in half between Serenity and Murphy, after about four hours of straight paperwork and bringing their boss coffee, or whatever else he may have wanted, they had the rest of their time to do whatever. On schooldays this meant that the two had about an hour of doing anything (while trying not to let on to Kaiba they were finishing early, he would definitely give them more work if he knew) to pass the time. On Saturday's they had triple the work, but way more time, so still had about two hours before they could leave.

"Um, excuse me." A tall man with biceps so large Serenity was pretty sure he could crush her with one touch was standing outside the elevator. "I'm supposed to refill the vending machine, but, uh, I'm kind of new to this job and not really sure what to fill it with."

Serenity and Murphy's eyes met. An impish grin appeared on Murphy's face, and Serenity was pretty sure she shared it.

"We can help you." Murphy said, widening her brown eyes in faux-innocence. Serenity nodded eagerly beside her. She knew Kaiba never ate from the vending machine, he wouldn't notice if his bland granola bars were replaced. The two girls hopped out of their chairs and followed the man (whose nametag read "Phil") onto the elevator.

"You sure you two know what he wants in there?" Phil asked. "His order form was lost when the old guy quit."

"Oh, yes," Serenity nodded, "He told me personally." Never in a million years, did Serenity think she would be so bluntly lying about something related to the most powerful CEO in the country, but that was then, she told herself, and this is now. Besides, he would never find out.

"Here's the list of all the things I have in the truck," Phil said, handing Serenity a list of items, "Just check what he wanted."

"I'll help you." Murphy said, staring at the list over her shoulder, "Err, I mean, I'll help you remember. What he told you."

Much to Serenity's pleasure, at floor number six, the four S's walked on the elevator, sending the familiar rush through her stomach she felt whenever she was near Samuel.

"Hi!" She smiled, as he moved to stand next to her.

"Hey," He smiled back. "What are you two up to?"

"Oh, you know, the usual. Sabotaging our boss's vending machine." Serenity answered as if she did things such as this every day.

"Of course," Samuel nodded back solemnly, "All in a day's work."

According to Samuel, the four S' were hardly ever allowed to do anything.

"He thinks only _he _can do it right," Stan had complained one night after work, "All we get to do is… is, well, it's not near as cool as what we _could _be doing if he's just let us actually do our job." The others had agreed, and Serenity nodded, pretending like she knew the first thing about computer science.

"Mmm, you guys should totally get those," Samuel said, pointing to a cupcake brand on the list.

"Those are my favorite too!" Serenity smiled. She quickly checked the box beside them.

"Let me see!" Murphy whined, trying to push in front of Samuel.

"Wait your turn." He said back, earning an eye roll.

The two girls, aided by their friends, ended up picking as many different types of cupcake and cookie packages as possible, giggling the whole time, thrilled with their rebellious behavior, however slight it may have been.

The girls stayed with the four S's on floor six for a little longer, until they knew they couldn't stall going back to their floor any longer.

"Where were you two?" Kaiba demanded, as they walked out of the elevator. Serenity glanced over at Murphy. He never came out of his office. She hadn't been expecting this.

"There was in issue in accounting." Murphy said smoothly, "We got it sorted out."

Kaiba glared at her. "An issue in accounting?"

Murphy nodded. "Right, Ren?"

"Uh, yeah." Serenity agreed. "Accounting. Really messed up place."

He stared at them for a few minutes, than turned back to his office without another word.

"Did we just get away with that?" Serenity asked as soon as she knew he was out of earshot.

"I guess there really is a first time for everything." Murphy shrugged, sitting down behind her desk.

Serenity sat down in her chair and frowned. All the talk of junk food reminded the girl of her brother. He'd been traveling with his girlfriend Mai Valentine, and though they promised to keep in touch, she hadn't been doing a very good job.

_I guess it wouldn't hurt to email him…. _ Serenity pulled up her account and started the email.

_Hey Joey! _

_Sorry I haven't written in a while, it's been pretty crazy around here._

Serenity paused_. _Exactly how detailed should this be?

_Schools going well, the family's doing great. Aunt Lily is still begging Uncle Jack for one of those huge fluffy cats. The world "allergic" seems lost on her. Guess some things never change. _

_Where are you guys now? Mom told me you two went to Italy last month! I'm so jealous! Write back soon, I miss hearing from you. Love you! _

_Serenity _

Serenity sighed and pressed, "send". It was true. She _did _miss her brother. They used to be so close when they were younger. But she knew how much he must have been enjoying himself. Though he didn't talk about it much he, like Serenity, had always wanted to travel the world.

"Hi Serenity!"

Serenity looked up from her computer and smiled. "Mokuba! Hey! What are you doing here?"

"Seto said I could come over here if I wanted." He shrugged.

"That's great!" She smiled. But what exactly was he supposed to do with him? Luckily, after saying hello to Murphy, he ran into his brother's office and out of Serenity's sight.

Serenity reached into her bag and pulled out a textbook. She'd been so busy with work lately she'd been falling behind at school.

"Whoa!" Serenity looked up from her textbook to see Mokuba staring at the vending machine in awe. "What happened to this?"

"Uh, we revamped it." Murphy told the boy. "Want to do us a favor and not tell your brother?"

"I won't." Mokuba promised, and eagerly started pressing buttons. Serenity shrugged and turned back to her French homework. She was relieved to have Murphy here, otherwise there was no way she could have gotten her work done, let alone have time for school work. It was no wonder Kaiba went through so many assistants, the work would be overwhelming for one person alone. She couldn't imagine how it was for other Kaiba Corp. employees (the four S's not included).

Serenity worked for about thirty more minutes, trying to memorize all the vocabulary, when she heard something crash.

"What just happened?" Serenity asked, standing up.

"Whoops." Mokuba giggled, before Serenity could even tell what had broken, he continued, "Can we play a game?"

"Um, did you just- I guess, for a little while, but-" Mokuba was already running off, Serenity not sure what he was up to.

"What's going on?" She asked Murphy as Mokuba ran around them.

"I don't know, maybe it has something to do with the five packages of cupcakes he just ate." She said, eying the rappers on the floor.

"Oh, great." Serenity groaned. A sugar high eleven year-old? She'd never dealt with this before.

"I don' think so!" Murphy exclaimed as the boy ran over to the vending machine again.

"Aw, come on! Please!" He cried as the curly-haired girl tried to drag him away.

"No way." She answered sternly. Serenity glanced at Kaiba's black door nervously. Hopefully he'd stay in there.

"I'm going to go see Seto then." Mokuba sighed, wiggling out of Murphy's grasp.

"No!" The two cried at once, but when Mokuba got to the door, he instantly started scowling.

"It's locked." He frowned. For a minute Serenity frowned with him, then she groaned. Judging by the look on her partner's face, Murphy had the same idea. Kaiba knew the whole time.

"That bastard set us up." Murphy mumbled to Serenity, who nodded in agreement.

Fifteen minutes later, Serenity was almost ready to quit. Mokuba was, in one word, insane. She was never, _ever, _giving him sugar again.

"That's it!" Murphy cried as the boy climbed on her back, "Call Kaiba. He wins."

"Agreed." Serenity picked up the phone, dialed the number to her bosses office.

"Had enough?" He asked smugly, before Serenity could get a word out.

"Yes," She sighed, "Take him. Please."

"No."

"What?" Serenity cried, "Why not? He's your brother! You know how to handle this!"

"I know, I do." He replied, annoyance showing through his voice, "You tried to go behind my back and change how my company operates."

"It was a vending machine!" Serenity cried in exasperation.

"It doesn't matter what it was." He replied coolly. "I have a reason for doing every thing I do. I stock the vending machine the way I do so things such as this don't happen."

He was right, Serenity realized. She and Murphy hadn't even stopped to consider that he might have a reason for filling it with granola bars besides that he was Kaiba, and he sucked.

Serenity sighed again. "Okay, we'll get the machine back to normal, I swear," She said as she watched Murphy try to catch the out of control child. "And I'm sorry." She added when he didn't reply. "You're right, we shouldn't have done it."

The line disconnected. Serenity stared at the phone. Was that a good thing?

"Mokuba." The boy glanced at the door where his brother stood. "Come in here."

"Oh, thank God." Murphy flopped down in her chair and Serenity in hers as Mokuba ran into his brother's office.

"I think your phone's ringing." Murphy said after a minute.

"Oh! Thanks." Serenity grabbed her cell phone out of her bag.

"Joey?"

"'Renity! I got your email, and guess wat?" Before Serenity had a chance to speak, her brother blurted out, "I'm comin' home!"

"What?" Serenity cried.

"I know! Mai and were talking, an we both tink it'd be nice ta come see ya."

"T-that's great!" Serenity stuttered, "When are you coming?"

"Dat's the best part! We're gettin on da plane now!" Serenity felt her jaw drop. "We'll be dare in a few hours!"

"I-"

"Wat was that Mai? "Kay I'll tell her. Mai says she's excited ta see ya."

"I'm excited to see her too, but before you come should probably tell you-"

"Hey, da planes boarding now, Sis, I gotta go! See ya soon!"

Serenity groaned as her brother clicked off the line. "I quit life." Serenity mumbled as she laid her head on her desk.

Her brother had said she had a few hours. Serenity looked at the clock and frowned. Five thirty. She didn't know where her brother was flying in from. What if she was still at work when he got in? Serenity knew Joey would know to go to her aunt and uncle's, but they didn't know of the two boys' hatred of each other, Serenity hadn't exactly told them. Her aunt and uncle would never understand why she couldn't tell him where she was working.

For the rest of the day Serenity kept stealing anxious glances at the clock. Surely her phone would have rang if Joey and Mai had already gotten in, right?

"I'll see you Monday, I guess." Serenity sighed as she packed up her things.

"See you later." Murphy replied, staring at her computer screen. She sent Samuel a message telling him she couldn't meet him tonight with the others, and left the building.

Before she had even walked into the penthouse, Serenity could tell something was not right. She could clearly hear voices being raised on the other side of the door.

"Hello?" She called timidly as she walked in.

"You're working for moneybags!" Joey demanded.

"I-yes."

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" Joey thundered.

"That I had to get a job?

"I think a job is good for her." Uncle Jack scowled. "Teaches her responsibility."

"Since when was Serenity never responsible?" Mai asked, frowning slightly. "She was always extremely level-headed."

"Did she not tell you about the party bust?" Lily asked, a scowl on her face, "Why else would we make her get a job?"

"Wat party? 'Renity! What have you been doin' while I've been gone! And how er you two lettin' her go outside dressed like dat?" Joey scowled, pointing at her shirt. Serenity glanced down at her navy top. It was a bit low cut, but not revealing in the least. Then again, Joey was used to seeing her in turtlenecks.

"Joseph, you're being completely unreasonable!" The blonde woman fumed.

"Maybe you should come back when you've calmed down." Jack suggested, not a hint of warmth in his voice.

"Come back? Serenity's comin' wit us." Serenity felt her eyes grow wide.

"No, she is not!" Lily growled. "You think I would trust her to leave with two nineteen year-olds alone?"

"I'm her brother!" Joey yelled, "And you two obviously aren't takin great care of her are ya? Besides, you trust her wit Kaiba!"

"We have provided her with everything she could possibly need and more!" Jack shouted back. Serenity held her head in her hands. All this over a job? "And as for Kaiba, he's light years ahead of you in maturity."

"He's a creep!" Joey insisted. "I don't want my baby sister-"

"Your sister has been doing fine ever since she got that job!"

"And what about before? Joey demanded.

"Well, we hit a rough patch, but-"

"But what?"

The argument went on, and on, while Serenity shrank to the back of the room.  
"That's it! Get your stuff, Sis, we're leaving."

"No, Serenity, you are not." The girl's uncle told her sternly.

"Bathroom!" Serenity squeaked.

Before anyone could object, Serenity ran to her room, locking the door behind her. The girl started immediately scrolling through her contacts. She dialed Stacey's number and held the phone to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Stacey!" Serenity felt relief flush through her. "Look, I know this is sudden, but can I come over? I'm having some issues at home."

"Um, Ren, we're in the Caribbean. My mom called your aunt about it, but she said you were working. Did she not tell you?"

"Oh, uh, no. She must have forgot. Who all is there?"

Stacey paused. "Leo, Bex, everyone. I'm sorry Renny."

"Don't worry about it." Serenity replied faintly.

Serenity flopped on her bed. Now what she was going to do? She dialed Murphy's number, but it went straight to voicemail. "No!" Serenity groaned.

She paced through her room until, finally, an idea came. Serenity stared at the number. She'd been strictly told it was for emergencies only. Well, she was currently homeless, wouldn't that be big enough? She couldn't stay with her aunt and uncle, that would upset Joey, but if she stayed with her brother, well they could barely afford to support themselves, let alone a whole other person.

"Serenity? Are you all right?" Mai asked on the other side of the door.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Serenity answered. She unlocked the door and let the blonde in.

"You going somewhere?" She asked, surveying the clothes lying around the floor.

"Uh, yeah. I'm staying with a friend until things calm down." She replied.

"Alright." Mai nodded. "I'll call you tomorrow, see how you're doing and everything."

"Sounds good." Mai nodded and left the room, leaving Serenity alone.

Serenity couldn't believe what she was doing, but it was necessary. "Hi." She started nervously, "I know this is…odd, and really, um, random, but I really need some help."

After the call ended, Serenity threw some clothes in a bag and slipped out the front door while her brother and uncle were arguing in the kitchen. She couldn't believe what she was doing, but she knew it would be interesting.

**A/N Thanks for reading. I'm going to be gone for a while and may not be able to update. Sorry in advanced for that. Please review!! It would make me very happy! Happy New Year! **

**~Average Previaler~**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Nothing is mine. Nothing **

Serenity stood nervously, hands stuffed into the pockets of her jacket and her bag slung over her shoulder, at the front door of her temporary home. If when she had woken up that morning she had known _this _was where she would be sleeping…. Well, she probably would have just wondered what the hell went wrong with her life. And a much darker side of her would have been wondering why she was so desperate for a promotion.

Finally, the door was slowly pulled open, her boss standing on the other side. "Wheeler." He said shortly.

Serenity shifted her eyes away from the man. Why her?

"Are you coming inside or not?" He asked, annoyance slipping into his voice.

Serenity simply nodded and followed Kaiba into his home. "Thank you." She said finally.

She had barely gotten to see her brother, for the first time in months, and this was how it had ended. She couldn't believe how different he had looked. He and Mia were both much tanner than they had been before they had left, not to mention how _big _Joey had gotten. He'd been about five eight when he'd left, but he was now easily six foot, maybe a bit taller, not to mention how broad his shoulders were. She wondered vaguely (and without being able to keep a slight smile off her face at the thought) what a fistfight between him and her boss would be like. Oh yes, Joey would win. Hopefully.

Before Kaiba could reply to her thanks, Mokuba came bounding into the hallway. "Serenity! Seto said you were spending the night! Do you want to watch a movie with me?" He asked eagerly, a bright smile on his adorable face.

"Uh, yeah. That sounds great." Serenity smiled back. "Why don't you go pick something to watch?" Mokuba nodded and returned to the den while Serenity turned her attention back to his brother. "I mean it," She said to him, "Thank you."

Kaiba nodded, but looked away from her. They stood awkwardly before he asked, "Do you want me to show you you're room? You can take your bag upstairs." Perhaps it was because her eyes were red and puffy, obviously from crying, or maybe he just took pity on practically homeless girls, but Kaiba was acting surprisingly un-Kaiba like.

"That sounds good." Serenity replied. She followed him upstairs taking so many turns, she could only hope she would remember the way back.

"Here." Kaiba stopped at the very last door on the right-hand side of the hallway. "The staircase next to it leads straight to the den." Without another word he himself took the stairs, leaving Serenity alone.

The room Kaiba has assigned to her was, in one word, cute. The walls were a nice blue with a white trim running around the top and bottom, and a small twin bed with a matching white quilt was nestled into the room, a light yellow rug surrounding it. Long white curtains draped to the floor from the windows, and a desk sat on the far wall, a Kaiba Corp., brand computer lying on top of it.

Before venturing down the stairs, Serenity placed all the clothes she'd packed in her bag (which wasn't much) into the dresser, and sat her favorite stuffed animal, a yellow dog she'd named Denny, on the bed. She took a deep breath and rolled back her shoulders.

"You can do this." Serenity told her reflection, as she stood in front of the mirror hanging on the wall. "This is nothing. It's one night, two at the most. You'll be- Oh!" Serenity jumped back as she saw her Kaiba leaning against her doorframe, a smirk playing on his lips.

"You dropped this." He told her, holding up her silver clutch. Serenity felt her face heat up as she received her bag from his hands.

"Right. Thanks." She placed on the desk quickly, and then turned back around. "I was, um-"

"Talking to yourself?" Kaiba offered, his smirk growing wider.

"I was _going_ to say that I was just about to go downstairs." The girl scowled back, folding her arms defensively across her stomach. "And I wasn't talking to myself!" She added quickly, shifting her gaze away from the teen.

Kaiba didn't reply, but turned on his heel and left the room. "Are you coming or not?" He called, annoyance finding it's way back into his voice. Serenity blinked then started forwards, following the brunette boy down the stairs.

"Serenity, I found these five, which do you think?" Mokuba asked her as soon as she had stepped into the room, which Serenity took a moment to examine. It was different than the rooms surrounding it, which were all decorated in a classic style that made Serenity feel as if she was in the middle of a Jane Austin novel. The den, however, looked different, as if it belonged to two teenage boys as opposed to a wealthy elderly couple. The walls were a deep gold, but you could hardly see them as shelves filled with every DVD and video game you could possibly think of lined almost every inch of the east wall, surrounding the enormous flat-screen TV. The black leather couch had blankets and pillows tossed about it, and the coffee table in front of it was scattered with Duel Monster cards, a pile of empty pizza boxes stacked in the corner.

"How about this one?" Serenity offered holding up a movie she'd never heard of. To be honest, she couldn't remember seeing any of them. Mokuba smiled and dashed to the DVD player while his older brother sat down in an armchair in the same color and material as the couch, opened the computer on his lap, and within a minute his fingers were already flying over the keyboard.

"I'll help you," Serenity offered her boss, "In any way I can." Kaiba's fingers slowed slightly. His eyes shot towards her momentarily before returning to the screen.

"That won't be necessary." He replied without a hint of warmth in his voice.

"But, really, I-" Before she could even finish her sentence, Kaiba cut her off with a piercing glare. Serenity stared at him for a minute before turning to the TV with a shrug. She could live without working, if he insisted, of course.

"This is one of my favorites." Mokuba informed Serenity as he pulled a black cashmere blanket around himself. "Seto likes it too, don't you?" The boy added, his voice a bit louder. Kaiba merely grunted in response, his eyes not leaving his computer.

Though her eyes were focused steadily on the TV screen in front of her, Serenity's thoughts were still focused on the penthouse she'd left an hour earlier. This, the brunette realized, truly went beyond just Serenity getting a job. Her entire lifestyle had changed, something she knew Joey wouldn't approve of. Designer clothes, Joey would say, were a waste of money, her friends would be viewed as spoiled rich kids, and her weekend activities, unacceptable. She_ knew_ her brother. He still expected her to be the timid little girl she was when he left for college. Not that her aunt and uncle would let Serenity be with him long enough for Joey to even make these observations, what with the scene he'd made earlier. Lily and Jack, not having any kids themselves, had taken it upon themselves to claim Serenity as their own. The chances of them letting Serenity pack up and leave with two teenagers were slim, family or not.

Serenity shifted her gaze back over to Kaiba. How long would he let her stay? She, of course, wanted out as soon as possible, but how long would that really take. Surely she was right, and it wouldn't take over a day or two. Even if she couldn't go back home, there had to be someone else she could stay with. She had her own savings, if she could make it through the next paycheck, she may even be able to find her own place. She could take care of herself.

"I think he's asleep." Serenity mused as Mokuba rolled over on his side, his long black hair hanging over his face.

Kaiba glanced over his computer to his little brother and sighed. "He never makes it past the climax." He shut his computer and stood up, stretching his arms over his head as he did so. Kaiba walked to Mokuba scooped him into his arms, then walked out of the room.

Just as Serenity was wondering whether or not she should leave then den and go back upstairs, her boss returned to the room, the computer lying on the table beside the chair remaining untouched. Serenity watched as Kaiba sat down on the opposite end of the couch and picked up the remote.

"I'm assuming you don't mind." He said before he started flipping through the channels, not stopping until he landed on a station Serenity didn't even recognize. She crinkled her brow slightly as she tried to understand what the man on the screen was talking about.

"A business channel?" She asked, as a graph flashed on the screen, causing Kaiba to lean forwards slightly, his eyes focused, ignoring Serenity completely. "I'll take that as a "yes" then." She mumbled before wrapping herself in the blanket Mokuba had left behind.

After a few minutes of Serenity silently trying to keep up with what Kaiba was watching, the blue-eyed boy unexpectedly stood up and walked to a near-by cabinet. He paused for a minute, his eyes scanning its contents, before reaching in and pulling out a bottle of wine. He reached into another cabinet and pulled out a glass. Kaiba paused, and his navy eyes wondered to Serenity. He jerked his head slightly to the bottle, and Serenity nodded in return.

"Thanks." Serenity said as she accepted the glass from his hands.

"Hn."

She felt her shoulders relax as she sank further back on the couch, enjoying the warmth of the wine in her stomach. "I think I'm going to buy my own apartment." Serenity admitted, not really sure why she was bothering to say this to the boy sitting across from her.

"You're seventeen." Kaiba replied blankly.

"You pay well." Serenity shrugged. She took another sip and sighed. "What does one look for when apartment shopping?"

"You're not buying an apartment." Kaiba scowled. "That is ridiculous."

"Is not!" Serenity insisted. "I passed Home Ec.!" The corners of Kaiba's mouth lifted slightly, but he said nothing.

After a few minutes, Serenity couldn't help but ask, "So, what exactly is this?" She still couldn't really understand what they were talking about on whatever her the CEO was watching.

"It shows statistics, stocks, and production rates of my competitors." He replied flatly.

"Oh." Serenity figured he probably had bought is off a special deal the TV company only offered to extremely rich people. Or had it custom made for him. That sounded like something he would do. "Does it ever show Kaiba Corp. stuff?"

"Of course." Kaiba said with a roll of his eyes.

Ignoring Kaiba, Serenity pulled her cell phone, which she'd kept on silent, not even bothering with vibrate, out of out of her pocket. She couldn't help but groan at the site of the fourteen missed messages. Upon further inspection she found that six were from Joey, six from her aunt and uncle, and two from Mai.

"I can send someone to get the rest of your stuff if you need." Kaiba offered evenly.

Serenity picked up the bottle and poured another glass.

"Why are you letting me stay here?"

Kaiba tuned to the girl and raised an eyebrow. "Do you not want-" He started slowly, but Serenity cut him off.

"No! I mean, I appreciate it, but, I just, I don't…" Serenity let her voice trail off and she shook her head. "Never mind." She mumbled.

"I let you stay here, because you're my assistant. In a way, you're my responsibility. Whether I like it, or not." Kaiba replied, he sighed slightly and clicked off the TV. "You should go to sleep. We have important things to do tomorrow."

"I-" Serenity paused. Wasn't tomorrow Sunday? Or better know as, her day off? But she wasn't about to push that, at least not while she was living in his house. Besides, what would she do all day anyway? "Alright then." Neither of the two bothering to say goodnight, Serenity walked up the marble staircase to her little bedroom, and when she finally got there, collapsed on the white twin bed. One day down, who knew how many to go?

*********

Once again, Serenity stood in the entranceway of the Kaiba mansion, her arms covered in goose bumps, wondering why anyone would purposely keep their house this cold. When Kaiba came downstairs, without a hint of a greeting, he immediately walked out of the front door, and Serenity knew to follow.

"Where are we going?" Serenity asked as she realized they were going the opposite direction of the Kaiba Corp. building.

"Shopping." Kaiba relied shortly.

Serenity sat in a stunned silence. This was what he meant when he said they had important things to do today? _Shopping? _

"For what?" Serenity asked. But before she had an answer, the limo had pulled to a stop, and Kaiba was already climbing out.

Once Serenity had done the same, the girl found herself standing in front of a large white building with wide windows, and a neatly dressed doorman guarding the entrance.

"What are we doing?" Serenity asked, but was, once again, ignored.

"Mr. Kaiba!" A dark-haired lady beamed as Serenity's boss entered the building, "It's so great to see you! Let's start, shall we?"

Serenity frowned as Kaiba nodded. "Start what?" She asked, hardly able to keep the whining tone out of her voice.

"We're getting an apartment." Kaiba replied shortly, and sharply, sending Serenity into silence, even though her head was reeling with thoughts.

"We have one available," The woman told Kaiba, acting as though Serenity wasn't there, "And it's _beautiful. _You don't know how many people have been waiting for it to come on the market. The waiting list to even look at our suites is incredibly long. _Very _incredibly long." She continued with a smug smile.

"Hn." Kaiba grunted in response, his face expressionless.

"Here we are!" The brunette chimed as the elevator stopped on the fifth floor. When she stepped off, Serenity realized that there were only two doors a sitting a few feet away from each other, one with a gold 14 nailed on the white door, the other with a 13.

The woman pulled out a small key and unlocked the door marked 14, and held it open as Kaiba and Serenity walked through. "Isn't it lovely?"

Serenity couldn't help but agree as she saw the gorgeous wooden floors, cream walls, and the high ceiling. There were three more white doors along the back wall, and a marble countertop dividing the room they were standing in and the kitchen.

"Two bedrooms one bath." Kaiba confirmed. The brunette nodded. "I'll take it."

"What?" Serenity gasped. Kaiba ignored her.

"Hurry with the papers, I want everything done by tonight." Kaiba barked at the lady, who jumped slightly and scurried out of the room.

"I-I-What-"

"Don't think of it as a personal favor. It's not."

"But I-"

"And _don't _think it come without a price." Kaiba growled, drumming his fingers impatiently on the desk, glaring at the door.

"I can't afford the rent on this!" Serenity cried. "Even with your paycheck, this thing looks like it'd cost-"

"Be quiet," Kaiba hissed, "And let me explain." Serenity was instantly silenced. "You live under a roof I pay for, you follow my rules. You're to be back before twelve each night, and I want all guests out by twelve-thirty. If I come in and you and Murphy are wasted-"

"Wait, what?" Serenity frowned.

"Yes, Murphy's going to live here too, and you don't honestly think I would trust you two with privacy? He sneered. "You have to earn that."

"You- you're really buying me an apartment?" Serenity breathed.

"No."

"No?" Serenity frowned.

"I'm buying an apartment for me to use that room," Kaiba jerked his thumb to one of the three doors, "As storage. And you and Murphy will just happen to live in one of the others. I'm tired of Murphy passing out drunk on my couch, and don't have time to deal with your home issues." Kaiba finished coldly.

Serenity felt her cheeks heat, and she turned her head the opposite direction. "Thank you." She said finally. "But, I can't. Really, it's way too much."

"You want me to dock your pay? You're already going to be babysitting Murphy seven nights a weeks for free." He smirked.

"Yes." Serenity replied. Kaiba raised an eyebrow. He paused for a minute, before saying; "I can't do that."

"Yes, you can. I've been accepting charity from my Lily and Jack, for the last year. I don't need anymore." She growled. She paused for a minute, waiting for her breathing to calm. "How can I make it even?" She asked quietly, her brown eyes focused on the marble countertop she was leaning on.

"Keep out of trouble. Keep _her _out of trouble. And stop putting sugar in my coffee. It's absolutely disgusting." Kaiba replied evenly, standing up straight.

Serenity felt the corners of her mouth lift and she nodded. "No more sugar. Deal." It was ridiculous, being able to randomly go out one day and just buy a flat, Serenity thought, but if it got her a place to live, well, she'd take it. There were still a lot of issues to work out, like how she'd get to school, her family, not to mention the prospect of random Kaiba drop by's, but she'd think about all that later. Right now, she would just enjoy the fact that having to sleep in the gutter that night was no longer an issue.

**A/N I'm so sorry that took so long! I promise updates will be more frequent from now on. Really, there's no excuse. Thank you for reading, thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far, and please do the same for this chapter! Until next time!**

**~Average Prevailer~**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Not mine. Please don't send me to court. **

"No! I won't do it, and you can't make me!" Murphy thundered at Kaiba, slamming her fist on the desk in front of her during the process.

"I can, and I am." The CEO replied evenly, hardly glancing up from the stack of papers he was reviewing.

"No you can't! You're already trying to control my life as it is-"

"Have you ever thought," Kaiba interrupted in a quite voice so cold it sent Murphy to silence, "That maybe your life _needs_ to be controlled."

Serenity couldn't help but stare at the two. The curly-haired girl never hesitated to make her opinion known, but her hollering at Kaiba like this was something new entirely. It didn't quite make since to Serenity, she'd never seen Murphy so angry. Her chest was heaving up and down, cheeks flushed, and her eyes were more sharp and attentive than Serenity had ever seen them, all of that, over an apartment?

"I'm doing fine." She hissed through gritted teeth. "I don't need you telling me what I can and can't do. Don't you think I get enough of that here?"

Kaiba sat down the papers and glared at Murphy straight on. "The only reason you're "doing fine" is because of me making sure you-"

"I can handle myself!" She shouted, causing Serenity to jump back. Murphy turned around, her back facing Kaiba, hands clenched into "I won't do it." She managed to whisper.

"I'll call your father." Kaiba warned, his hand hovering over the black telephone on his desk.

"Do it." Murphy growled back, "I dare you."

Kaiba raised an eyebrow and picked up the phone. He dialed the number, holding it to his ear. For a few seconds Murphy let the phone ring, but by the fourth she spun around jabbed the end button with her finger. Both Murphy and Kaiba were silent for a minute before the boy said, "I'll have someone move your stuff while your working."

"I hate you."

Kaiba simply nodded. That was old news to him and everyone else in the building.

"Sorry about that." Murphy breathed as the two girls left their boss's office. "We don't get along so well, if you hadn't noticed."

"I'm pretty sure everyone in a five-mile radius has noticed." Serenity smiled back, bumping her shoulder playfully.

"Yeah, well… He started it." She sighed. Murphy flopped down in her chair and rested her head in her hands.

"It won't be that bad. I mean, I don't snore or anything." Serenity said in attempt to cheer up the sulking girl.

"It's not you, I promise. It's _him_." She sighed again and dropped her head from her fingers, putting her forehead to the desk.

"He won't live there." Serenity frowned.

"No, I know. It's that he's doing this _thing _again. He always just- never mind. He's a jackass. We all know that."

Serenity nodded and pulled her chair closer to her desk. Jack and Lily hadn't been thrilled when she'd told them about Kaiba's apartment, but after Jack and Kaiba had talked, they'd been fine. Joey, on the other hand, had hardly been able to form a sentence he'd been so angry. Serenity could only hope it would blow over in time.

The two didn't hear another word from their boss until it about thirty minutes later, when the phone on Serenity's desk rang.

"Hel-"

"I need you to take something to the flat. Put it in the safe in the storage room, and _don't _loose it." Was all Kaiba said before the line went dead.

"Right." Serenity muttered to no one. She stood up and walked to his office, wishing for once would just bring it out himself.

Sitting on the corner of Kaiba's desk was a stack of CDs, each in a different colored case. Serenity picked them up, not making eye contact with her boss, as usual, but just as she was about to leave, was stopped.

"I had an interesting call today." Kaiba told her, sending a shiver up Serenity's spine.

"Really?" Serenity replied, shifting nervously as Kaiba glowered at her.

"Really." He paused before continuing, "Can you guess who it was from?"

Serenity felt her stomach drop. Yes, she could. "No," She lied, "I have no idea."

Her lie was obvious, and made Kaiba's eyes narrow. "If your brother ever contacts me again, I assure you, he'll wish he was still gathering flees from the motels of Peru like the dog he is."

Serenity felt anger shoot through her. "Don't you ever-"

"May I remind you, Wheeler, that you especially are in absolutely no position to be threatening me?"

Serenity stopped. He was right. He was giving her a job, _and _a place to live. An unfair advantage, if you asked her.

"He _is _a jackass." Serenity growled after she had left the room.

"I'm planning to kill him, you want in?" Murphy offered, and Serenity could only hope she was at least _half _joking.

"Sure, just make sure he's signed my paycheck first." Before anything else could be said, the cell phone in Serenity's pocket rang.

"Serenity! We haven't talked to you in, like, _forever!_ We were just calling to say, hi!"

"Hey, Stacey, Bex how's the island?" To be honest, Serenity hadn't given her friends much thought lately. During school she'd been so distracted with everything else she had hardly noticed their absence.

"Oh, it's great!" She gushed, "And _so _pretty! Plus, you should see all the guys here! They're all so-" Right as the blonde was about to finish her sentence, the stack of CDs Serenity had carelessly tossed to the edge of the desk crashed to the floor. "Shit." She muttered.

"What was that?" Came Bex's voice from the other line.

"Just some CDs Kaiba gave me to put away in some safe. Just a sec, I better put them in my bag." Serenity hurriedly grabbed the four CDs and stuffed them in her purse before returning to the phone. "Sorry about that, what were you saying?"

"Nothing really, I- Oh my gosh! Sorry, Ren, but there's this guy and I've been trying to talk to him, like, all week, and he's walking over here!"

"Um, okay. I'll talk you later then I-"

"Right, love you, bye!"

"I need alcohol." Serenity groaned, tipping her head back and running her fingers through her hair.

"Me too. Place down the road after this?" Murphy offered.

"Yeah," Serenity nodded, "That sounds great. How many more hours-" Serenity groaned as glanced at the clock, "Three hours until we leave!" She whined.

"I don't get paid enough for this." Murphy scowled. "We don't even get naptime."

Serenity smiled slightly. She picked up the stack of paperwork in front of her and sighed. Naptime was, indeed, a lacking necessity. If only her boss didn't hate her guts, maybe she could bring it up. But, alas, she _was _hated, and therefore knew she had the next three hours of filling out forms to look forward to. Three hours, without a nap.

********

"Why don't you try this?" Samuel offered pointing to a drink on the menu, "It's nice and strong. And if what Murphy is whining about it true, I think you'll be benefiting from it."

"Thanks," Serenity smiled, who had been lost on what to order. "And, it's true. But I'm not sure how wildly out of proportion she may be blowing it." Serenity joked.

"We know how she gets. Soon she'll be saying how, really, he's the cause for world hunger."

Serenity tipped her head innocently to the side. "Is he not?"

Samuel laughed and tipped his chair back. "Nah, just office-wide migraines."

"Well, look who it is." Serenity heard Murphy, who had just sat down, mutter from across the table. Serenity lifted her head.

"Bex?" Serenity frowned slightly. "But she was in the Caribbean with Stacey this morning!"

"Private jets will do that for you." Stan shrugged.

Oblivious to Serenity trying to get her attention, the dark haired girl seemed entirely focused on the door, not looking away until the blonde boy Serenity had started seeing her with came through. Once in, he placed his hand on her back and guided her, almost forcefully, to a table in the far right corner.

Serenity shrugged and turned back to her table. She would talk to Bex later.

"So, how's the game-thing you guys have been working on coming?" Serenity asked the four S's, and instantly wished she hadn't. The boys immediately roared out complaints, each louder, and more ferocious, than the last. From the shouts, Serenity could pick up the basic theme; that Kaiba wouldn't let them do their job, as usual, as he trusted no one but himself.

"Please!" Murphy scowled, "I'd kill to have him do my job for me!"

"Well, you're stuck doing monotonous paper-work all day, we have a job we actually _want _to do! We didn't go to college for nothing, damn it!" Seth growled.

Serenity suddenly felt a thud on the back of her chair and a voice say, "Oh, sorry." She turned around to see Bex standing behind her, and the contents of Serenity's purse scattered across the floor. Bex immediately bent down and started scooping the stuff up.

"Here, I'll help." Serenity offered.

"No, really, it's fine." Bex said. She quickly gathered the rest of the things, threw them in Serenity's bag, but before Serenity could get another word out to her friend, she had left.

"I'll be right back." Ignoring the protests of the people around her, Serenity took off after Bex, following her to the bathroom.

"Hey," She said once she'd caught up with her, "What's going on? You're supposed to be with Stacey and Leo in the Caribbean."

Bex stopped in front on the bathroom mirror, but didn't face Serenity. "I had to come home." She said blankly. Serenity raised an eyebrow. "I just had stuff to take care of. Family things."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Serenity asked slowly.

"I'm fine." Finally, the girl turned to Serenity and offered a small smile. "Just pissed I had to come home early. I'm sorry I walked off like that. Your friend- Murphy- we've had conflicts in the past."

"Wait, you know Murphy?" Serenity asked in surprise.

"Yes, we all grew up together, in a way, her, Stacey, Leo, Lars, Kaiba, me, a few others. All of our parents knew each other." Bex said, her face hard, with a bit of what looked to be, bitterness. Upon seeing Serenity had noticed this, she added, "Things went bad as we got older. We…drifted. We're just different people. Grouping us together like that was a bad idea."

"Oh." How had Serenity not known this before? Kaiba really did know her friends, possibly even better than she did. And what had happened between Bex and Murphy? "I better go. They're all waiting for me." Bex nodded, and Serenity left the bathroom, the same questions repeating themselves in her head.

"Are you alright?" Samuel asked as Serenity took her seat beside him.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Serenity watched closely as Bex passed Murphy. Murphy's eyes turned the deadly sharp she'd seen earlier, and Bex's narrowed, her upper lip curling slightly. But just as quickly as the dirty looks had been exchanged, Murphy was back, laughing at something Seth had said, and Bex was sitting with the blonde boy, discussing something in a hushed tone. Serenity shook her head. She'd be sure to find out about that later.

*******

"Well, here it goes." Murphy sighed. She twisted the key in the door to the new apartment, and both girls walked in. "Whoa."

"How did he already get this completely furnished? It's barely been a day!" Serenity exclaimed as she looked around her new home. "I'll be right back, I'm supposed to put some CDs in the-"

"NO! How does he expect us to eat like this? Serenity, get in here!"

Serenity dashed into the kitchen, now fully stocked with state of the art appliances, and skidded to a stop in front of the refrigerator.

"Vegetables. That's it. Vegetables." Murphy said faintly.

"No, no, I see some fruit in the back." Serenity noted, and then burst out laughing. "Oh, calm down!" She said, seeing Murphy's horrified face, "It just gives us an excuse to eat out more."

"True, I- did you hear the door shut?" Sure enough, the actual owner of the apartment appeared in the living room, much to the dismay of his two employees.

"Sit down." He commanded. "We have things to discuss."

Serenity sat down on the brown couch in the living room, and, after an eye roll, Murphy followed suit.

"There are rules," Kaiba started, "And you need to know them." Murphy opened her mouth to object, but a glare from Kaiba silenced her. "The basics should be obvious," He continued, as if talking to a group of primary school children "Keep the place clean, lock the door at night and when you leave, keep all food in the kitchen." He stopped, his navy eyes flicked over to Murphy, "I want all guests out of the flat early, ten-thirty, at the latest."

"That's ridiculous!" Murphy cried, as most likely was Kaiba had predicted she would.

"_And_," He went on, ignoring her outburst, "I want you sober. At all times. You live under my roof now-"

"I wouldn't," Murphy snarled, "If you wouldn't treat me like I was twelve! I'm perfectly capable of living on my own!"

Serenity rubbed her temples with her fingers. This was going to be a long night.

"Maybe, if you didn't actlike you were twelve, I wouldn't have to!" Kaiba growled back. "And if _that _is your definition of "perfectly capable", well then it's no wonder you were shipped here in the first place!" This stunned Murphy into silence. She leaned back against the couch, her face wiped of expressions.

She paused where she was before standing up. "I'm going to bed." She announced flatly. With that she turned on her heel and walked to the bedroom without a backwards glance.

Even Serenity, who hadn't grown up in their world of business, knew what Kaiba had done to shock Murphy so. The CEO had broken the unwritten rule of never speaking about favors so bluntly. They were dealt quickly, quietly, and never spoken of again. Just then Kaiba had called her out on it, reminded her that she had screwed up badly, to the point where someone else had to fix it. Serenity, of course, had no idea what Murphy had done, but judging by her reaction it wasn't something she wanted to be reminded of.

"You shouldn't have forced her here." Serenity said as soon as Murphy had disappeared into the bedroom. Kaiba didn't reply. Serenity hadn't expected him to. She knew it was because he didn't feel as though he should waste his time to give her an explanation of his actions. No, Serenity wasn't, and never would be, up to that level of importance.

Only a few minutes later did Kaiba leave, only giving her more orders ad rules before he did so. Finally, Serenity walked to the bedroom, realizing she hadn't seen it since it had been furnished. The walls were a warm brown, and the two twin beds draped in blue silky coverings. A small nightstand and a lap sat by both beds, and a dresser across from each. The room was warm and cozy, the kind that seemed to try to lure to you to sleep in it, even for only a minute.

After changing into pajamas, Serenity climbed into her bed, the one furthest from the window, and snuggled deep into the covers. She had to admit, she was a little nervous about having a roommate. She'd never had one before. What if by the end of the year they ended up hating each other? She'd heard of that happening before. Serenity shook her head. Everything will work out fine, She told herself, besides, what's the worst that could happen?

As her mind wondered more, it couldn't help but land on her boss. His and Murphy's interactions today had been, in the least, unsettling. _He _was unsettling. Though she'd grown used to spending almost every day around him, she couldn't help still (though she'd never admit it, hardly to herself even) feel slightly intimidated when she was around him. And what about his call with Joey? He wouldn't really hurt him would he? Surely that had been all talk! The girl felt her stomach pang. She missed her brother. It seemed that now that she knew he was so close, seeing him was ten times as hard as it had been before. Tomorrow, she would call him. The thought settled her a little and she buried her face deep into the soft pillow, felling her shoulders relax. Yes, she decided, tomorrow would be better.

**A/N Thanks for reading! Things should be picking up soon a little more soon; I can't wait to get it all written out, lol! Just a warning, things might seem a little odd in upcoming chapters, but they'll be understood later Thanks again for reading, hope you liked, and please review! Please! Adiós! **

** ~Average Prevailer~**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me. **

Serenity sat in the corner of her apartment, hands clenching her hair in tight fists, and her eyes squeezed shut. This could not be happening. This was something that happened to other people, people in movies or on cheesy sitcoms, but not to _real_ people.

"Come on!" Murphy had begged a few hours ago, "I'm just going to have a few people over, really, just thirty minutes and they'll be gone. It won't be like last time, I swear."

Apparently to the brunette a few people meant about thirty of her closest friends, and all of their closest friends. Thirty minutes? Serenity scowled. Yeah, right. Three hours later and the "small get together" (she should have known not to allow anything titled as so) had transformed to a living hell for Serenity.

"Hey, we're out of beer!" A dark-haired boy bellowed to Serenity.

Serenity felt her shoulders tense even tighter than they had been. There was no way she'd be their booze donkey. "Did you hear me? I said-"

Ignoring the obnoxious boy, Serenity stood up, and, after almost tripping over a fallen lamp, retreated to her bedroom. "Don't even think about it!" She growled to a giddy couple, one of which was reaching for her room's doorknob. The brunette slammed the door behind her, locked it, and flopped down on her bed. This was not fair. She remembered Kaiba saying that he was getting a free babysitter out of Serenity, had she known _this _was what he meant…

The girl bolted upright when she heard the doorknob start to rattle. A few seconds later someone was pounding on the door, and they were showing no sign of stopping. Finally, Serenity flung the door open, only to find Murphy herself at the doorway. "You are so dead!" She hissed at her, but Murphy seemed to not hear her as she stumbled passed. "Oh my God," Serenity laughed bitterly, "You're hammered. Again. Of course, just my luck."

"Am not!" Murphy snapped, and then had to catch herself on the dresser as she almost fell to the ground on a pair of jeans she'd left on the floor the previous day. "Fuck." She muttered, rubbing her forearm.

"Murphy! How am I supposed to handle this? I don't know any of these people! I can't get them to leave!"

"Leave? Why would they leave?" Murphy frowned as she dug through a drawer in her bedside table.

"Because, Kaiba said-"

"Fuck Kaiba!" Murphy snapped, "But not literally, because that would be...well, let's just not talk about that right now. The point is, who cares what he says? He's not here, is he?"

Serenity rubbed her temples with her fingers. "Murph, come on…" She was over this night and many like it she had already suffered though.

"What? He may be able to control _you _like a puppet, but not me!" Without another word she staggered out of their shared room, taking with her a large bottle of something Serenity couldn't identify that she'd kept stored in one of her drawers, and slammed the door behind her. "You have got to be kidding me." Serenity sighed. She should have stayed with Joey, as her brother had suggested she should when they'd met up for lunch earlier that week.

_She's on her own_ . Serenity thought bitterly. She locked the door to the bedroom once more and sat down cross-legged on her silky duvet cover. If Murphy wanted to get stoned that was her decision, but Serenity wouldn't be the one to clean the puke off the walls in the morning. The girl flipped to her stomach and pulled her pillow over her head. She could still hear the peals of unfamiliar laughter from the other room. Every now and the doorknob would rattle, but Serenity would ignore it.

It wasn't until the clock flashed two-thirty did the noise start to die down. Serenity took a deep breath. She knew it was time to venture into the living room, but the damage that lay beyond the safe walls of her bedroom was not something she was sure she was ready to face yet. After a few more minutes of stalling Serenity pulled open the door feeling her stomach drop as she did so. Beer cans were strewn about the floor, the couch was flipped over, as were the chairs. Cabinets and drawers were flung open, and the floor lamp lay shattered on the floor. "Murphy?" Serenity walked around the counter to the kitchen "Murphy?" She called again. No response. "Great." She muttered. The place was a wreck, and her roommate was missing. Not to mention the refrigerator was now completely empty.

Serenity stared blankly at the room around her. With a sigh of defeat she pulled one of the chairs upright, then the next. She gathered all of the stray cans and empty bottles then threw them into one of the black trash bags she'd found under the sink. She knew she shouldn't have to do this, but knew she couldn't dwell on it. _ I'll just talk to Murphy about it later, she'll understand. It won't happen again. _

Serenity, however, still couldn't help feeling uneasy. Every night with Murphy grew louder and more out of control. Murphy had taken to disappearing at random intervals, not just at night, but during the day as well, even during work, leaving no explanation.

What surprised Serenity the most though, was how Kaiba ignored it. Had Serenity, or any other employee, attempted to do so they would have been yelled at for a half hour straight then promptly fired. It made no since to Serenity, but she knew better than to question it.

It wasn't until the sun was just barely staring to peak through the sky did the girl finally stumble through the doorway looking disoriented, with back makeup smudged under her eyes, which were slightly puffy. She didn't even acknowledge Serenity as she passed, but even if she had, Serenity knew her speech would have most likely been too slurred to comprehend. Serenity shook her head. Her friend had just had a rough day. Soon she'd be back to normal.

*********

"Coffee. Now."

Serenity didn't bother answering, she knew before she would have time to say anything the line would be dead. She pushed herself out of her chair and walked to the coffee machine. It was weird, how adjusted she now was. Winter was finally starting to come to an end. The temperature was rising ever so slightly as the days went by.

Things were different than they had been when she'd first started at Kaiba Corp. The feeling of dread no longer filled her stomach when she was called into the CEO's office. The anxiousness of being there had worn off, replacing it a null, grey atmosphere, despite the increasingly blue skies. Serenity definitely felt no comfort from the building. It had become even worse since Murphy had, to use Samuel's words, fallen off the deep end. She hadn't bothered to show up to work in the last month in a half, and it had been long since Serenity had seen her at the apartment. There were always the occasional street sightings where one of them would see her in the arms of one boy or another, but never for long before they would vanish into an ally way or a shady-looking shop.

Placing the mug of coffee on the corner of her boss's desk, in the same place she did everyday, she couldn't help but let her eyes dart to the clock. "Mr. Kaiba-?"

"Go."

Relived, Serenity hurried out of his office and to the elevator. Going home was without a doubt the best part of the day. Today, however, she turned the opposite direction after she walked out the large revolving doors of Kaiba Corp., as she was on her way, for the first time in what seemed like forever, to Stacey's penthouse, where she'd be helping organize the latest charity ball her friends had taken charge of. The first one she'd attended had been the previous year, and had been amazing. The idea of another made Serenity's bleak day slightly better.

"Thank God!" Stacey sighed as soon as Serenity had stepped foot into the blonde's bedroom where her and Bex sat, surrounded by small black binders and stacks of paper, "I thought you'd never get here."

"Sorry, I-"

But Stacey was in her planning mode and cut Serenity off, handing her a packet of papers and saying, " Check over the guest list and make sure we didn't forget anyone, okay?"

Serenity nodded and took the papers, her eyes already scanning the list. Most of the names she recognized as students who went to school with them, but there were others that caught her eye. "Kaiba?" Serenity groaned, "You've got to be kidding me!"

"Please," Bex scowled at Serenity, "Kaiba's on every list. Shouldn't you know that by now? The boy practically owns the city."

"Less talking more looking!" Stacey snapped at Serenity, who rolled her eyes but resumed scanning the paper before her.

"What about the one kid from Chemistry? Doug or something?" Serenity offered handing the list back.

"I knew I forgot someone!" Stacey cried, slapping her forehead. She quickly snatched the list from Serenity's hand and scribbled the boy's name in red ink onto the paper.

"I'll have to have my mom check over it too," Stacey decided, "You know how parents are with that sort of thing."

Actually, Serenity had no idea, but she nodded in agreement anyway.

"Who are you bringing anyway?" Stacey asked, flipping through one of the black binders.

"What?" Serenity asked with a frown. "Oh, right. A date." To be honest Serenity hadn't thought that far yet. "I'm not sure."

"What about that one boy?" Stacey asked, copying a phone number into her planner.

"Samuel? I don't know…" The truth was the relationship had sort of fizzled out. After Murphy had withdrawn from their lives, the after-work meet ups had slowed to a stop, and Serenity hardly saw any of the four S's anymore.

"Take Leo," Bex said flatly, "He doesn't have a date either." She seemed in a worse mood than usual, thumbing through papers, a small frown on her full lips, but Serenity knew better than to say anything about it.

"Good idea." She nodded.

After another hour or so of going over details and trying to pick out the perfect invitations, the girls finally called it quits. Stacey had invited both girls to stay over, an invitation Serenity had gladly accepted. She was tired of coming home to an empty flat every night.

"It's official, by the way," Bex told Serenity in the same flat tone she'd used earlier, "I talked to Leo. He's taking you."

"Oh, thanks-" But Bex had disappeared into the bathroom before Serenity could so much as finish her sentence. Serenity shrugged her shoulders. Bex had always been a bit moody.

Serenity pulled on her pajamas and crawled under the covers. If only she had tomorrow off, she thought sadly, but decided not to let it get her down. If there wasn't time tomorrow, she'd go dress shopping Sunday. Serenity smiled slightly. It'd been a long time since she'd done something so stress relieving, and she was definitely looking forward to it.

********

Work was hard. There was no way around it. With Murphy absent, Serenity had twice the load she used to, and it was growing harder and harder to complete everything. Plus, she really did miss her friend. It'd had been nice having someone to complain about Kaiba and goof off with.

Serenity tried to push the worried thoughts of her friend out of her mind as she alphabetized the files in the cabinet.

"Wheeler." A cool voice said behind her, causing a shiver to rush up her spine. Kaiba sneaking up on her was the one thing she couldn't seem to get used to.

"Yes?" She stood up and fixed the collar of her shirt, her eyes purposely set away from the boy in front of her. She knew that tone, and that nothing good came of it.

"Do you even realize how far behind you are?" He growled.

"I-"

"If you think you can do absolutely _nothing_ all day and get away with it you are sorely mistaken." That was not fair, and he knew it. Serenity had already realized he was just taken his stress out on her as he used to do to Murphy. Before Serenity had time to make the point that her work was doubled, Kaiba continued, "I feel you won't be able to progress in this company until you learn that."

Serenity frowned. Kaiba knew she had no attention of ever moving up in Kaiba Corp. Finally, she allowed her eyes to meet his. He was angry, she could tell, but when was he not, what scared her was the hint of smugness in his eyes.

"You won't be receiving any pay for today,_ and _I want you here tomorrow, all of tomorrow."

"That's not fair!" Serenity cried, but Kaiba only smirked. "I need the money for today! You don't understand, there's Stacey's party and I have to get a dress for it, and-" Serenity stopped. There was know changing his mind, and from the look on his face her outburst had only fueled him even more. "Fine." She grumbled. "Whatever." Serenity wouldn't bother trying to argue with him. Being CEO made him always able to win those.

The next day, Serenity, her quarter-length sleeved v-neck black, in a form of silent protest, stood in front of her desk at six in the morning. Every inch of her body was yearning to take a mad dash for the elevator, but she stayed put. As it turns out, it wasn't just Serenity who got Sundays off, as the entire building was empty save for her and Kaiba.

"You really come here every day of the week?" Serenity asked as he brushed past her.

Kaiba turned to her and said nothing, but raised an eyebrow as if to say, "Of course I'm here everyday."

"Suck to be you." She muttered seating herself behind her desk.

After a few hours she had successfully finished all the work she'd needed to do, plus a few extra things that would clear her up for next week. Serenity tapped her fingers impatiently on the desk before her. It was only ten, and already she had nothing to do.

Another few minutes later and Serenity was convinced the clock was wrong. It could not only be ten o' seven. Impossible!

"Hey, Kaiba?" She pushed open the door to find him on his computer, as per usual.

"What?" He snapped.

"When you say I have to be here all day…"

"I mean," He said impatiently, "That you will be here until I leave."

Serenity furrowed her eyebrows slightly. "How long do you usually stay for?" She asked.

Kaiba smirked.

"No!" Serenity whined. She knew what that meant. If she left here before eleven that night she'd be considered lucky. "What am I supposed to do until then?"

"You could always try doing your job." Kaiba replied stiffly.

"I already have, thank you very much. I finished everything about half an hour ago."

Kaiba nodded once. Was this approval? Serenity decided to test her luck, "So, does that mean I can go home?"

"No." It was worth a shot. "You want something to do? Go get me more coffee. Now."

Serenity rolled here eyes but complied. "You better watch yourself Kaiba, I think you're at a serious risk for caffeine addiction." She warned his as she reentered the boy's office.

"Ha. Ha." He replied, his words dripping with sarcasm.

Serenity sat in the small black chair, her knees to her chin. She watched Kaiba work, something that would have been boring, but today fascinated her. Not the work itself, but the way in which Kaiba carried it out, completely flawless. She hadn't seen him mistype once, or trip over a word when he spoke on the phone, Serenity couldn't help but notice all the erasers on his pencils were completely whole. He'd never needed to use them before. And as she watched him in his cool demeanor, not rude, but still letting you know he was in charge, she couldn't help but feel a bit jealous. She would never be able to compose herself that way, to be so…perfect.

"You're staring is really annoying, in case that was your goal." Kaiba said finally, breaking their long span of silence. Serenity felt herself blush and she turned away.

""I wasn't staring." She mumbled, knowing it was just a waste of words. He hadn't sent her away though, and Serenity was grateful for that. Spending the next few hours alone would not be something Serenity would look forward to. She stood up and walked to the glass wall, and peered out. On the ground below the building, Serenity could just barely make out a dark headed figure, and instantly Serenity knew whom it was. She watched as Murphy stood outside of the building, as if trying to decide whether or not to enter. But after a few minutes, she turned away, hailed a taxi and just like that, was gone. Serenity was vaguely aware of Kaiba behind her. It wasn't until she felt him move back to his desk did she retreat to her chair. She didn't know what to say, so Serenity chose to keep her mouth shut. It was obvious they had both seen the same thing. Once, she noticed, did Kaiba's eyes flick towards the window, but after that he remained focused. Serenity sighed slightly and settled deeper into her chair. She wondered how Kaiba could keep his head so easily when everything around him was always such chaos. Serenity had half of what he did and sometimes felt like hoping on a train and taking off. It was just another part of him Serenity felt she'd never really understand, and for the time being, decided she was okay with that.

**A/N Thanks for reading! And I'm sorry that took so long. Normal excuses apply. Anyway, the real romance stuff will start happening soon (I know, it's taking forever, and I've probably said that ten times) I just feel like I need to make certain things about certain characters known beforehand, and that's taking a little while, so I apologize for that. But anyway, please review! Please! Thanks again for reading! Oh, and please review! **

**~Average Prevailer~ **


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to ****Kazuki Takahashi. **

It had taken weeks to prepare for, had claimed hours of their time to spend worry about, and finally it was here. Serenity smoothed the sides of the navy silk dress she'd picked out a few days earlier. It had a white trim around the outside that added emphasis to the dress's shape, and Serenity wore a pair of moderately high, white heels to match. . She'd curled her hair for the event, and even let Stacey do her make-up, mostly because she knew the blonde, in her emotional state of pre-party jitters, would have thrown a fit had she'd disagreed.

Stacey's charity event was perfect so far and even Stacey herself was starting to relax and enjoy herself.

"You want to go sit down?" Serenity called to Leo over the pounding music. Leo nodded in return and the two walked over to one of the white-linen covered tables.

"You having fun?" The boy asked. Serenity smiled and nodded. "Good!"

Serenity scanned the room occasionally waving to people she knew Leo nudged Serenity's arm, brining her attention back to her date. "Boss alert." He muttered with a smirk. Sure enough Kaiba was walking through the entranceway, Mokuba at his heels. "Should I go say hi or something?" Serenity asked Leo.

"No way, you've got to let him come to you." Leo told her, smirk still in place.

"I- wait no. Oh God, you don't honestly think-"

Leo's laugh cut Serenity off. "Just kidding." He grinned, and Serenity punched his arm playfully in return.

"Hi!" Stacey squealed, squeezing in between Serenity and Leo. "What do you think?" She asked, not able to hide her pride as she looked around the ballroom.

"It's amazing!" Serenity squealed back, and Stacey beamed in return, and then rushed off to make sure nothing was being messed up in the kitchen.

"So, what's it going to be this time?" Leo asked. Serenity smiled. At every event there was some sort of drama that went on and Serenity and Leo, who preferred to take a back seat to it all, loved to try to predict what would happen.

"Kay Hopkins and Stacey get into a catfight?" Leo suggested.

"Hasn't that already happened?" Serenity asked, trying to recall previous social events.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that whole ordeal last March." Leo nodded.

While Leo talked to a few of their friends who had just approached the table, Serenity scanned the crowd until she found Kaiba. He was standing alone, leaning against one of the walls, watching with a small smile as Mokuba stood a few feet away talking to a group of girls who seemed to be around his age.

"Enjoying the view?" Leo teased. Serenity rolled her eyes.

"That joke is getting real old, real fast."

"Who's joking?" Leo smirked. Serenity shook her head but smiled. Leo could be so immature sometimes. The CE) _did _look good though. Well, for Kaiba, at least.

"Want something to drink?" Leo asked her, standing up from his chair.

"That'd be great!" Serenity smiled. Right as Leo left his seat was instantly filled by Bex, whose over the shoulder emerald dress made her look exactly like a Greek Goddess, just as she wanted.

"Stacey did good." Bex noted, and Serenity nodded in agreement.

"Who's the boy you're with?" Serenity asked nodding her head to the square jawed, dark haired boy currently engaged in conversation with almost-wasn't-invited-Doug.

Bex shrugged. "Some friend of my Dad's kid. I don't really know him."

"He seems nice enough." Serenity offered. Bex shrugged.

"Here you go." Leo handed Serenity a glass of champagne, which she gladly accepted.

"Let's make some rounds!" Stacey giggled, appearing from the kitchen. She snatched Serenity's arm and looped in through her own, dragging her away from the round table. The brunette laughed and caught up to her friend.

"Who are you looking for?" Serenity asked Stacey, whose eyes were unusually sharp and focused.

"No one." The blond shrugged, trying her best to act indifferent.

"Oh, yeah right." Serenity said with a roll of her eyes. "I can tell you're looking for someone, now spill!"

"Okay, okay!" Stacey laughed, "He's this guy I met the other week at- Oh my God."

"What? Did you find him?" Stacey had stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes were still narrowed, but now with anger.

"What are you looking-" Serenity stopped dead as Stacey had. "Murphy?"

"She was _not _on the list! My mom must have added her on later! How else would she have gotten in? Oh my God, what if she snuck in?" Stacey hissed. Apparently she disliked the girl as much as Bex did.

Serenity ignored her. If one thing was for certain, Murphy looked different than Serenity had ever seen her. The usually wild curls were straightened to a silky perfection, fanning the outline of her daringly low cut lilac dress. Not to mention the brilliant diamond necklace resting on her chest.

"Isn't she supposed to be in rehab or something?" Bex sneered, coming up behind them.

Stacey shrugged. "Would someone just get her out of here, please?"

"I'll be right back, okay?" Serenity left the two, trying to fight her way to Murphy, but Leo grabbed her arm.

"Ouch, watch out! I already have serious bruising there from Stacey."

"Sorry." Leo pulled her aside to the table then sat down, breathing heavily.

"Are you okay?" Serenity asked.

"Yeah," He replied, "But I'm totally claustrophobic." He said, nodding his head towards the crowd of people.

"Hey, can I catch up with you later? I've really got to find-"

"Murphy? Yeah, I noticed those two glaring her down. Look, Serenity, I've got to talk to you about something. You probably don't want to hear it, but, well, you need to."

Serenity frowned. "Okay," She said slowly, "I'm listening."

Leo took a deep breath. "Look, don't- I mean, you can't," Leo paused then sighed. "Girls like Murphy? You're never really friends with them. I know you two were all buddy-buddy when she was still over there with Kaiba, but…"

"What are you talking about?" Serenity frowned.

"You're just setting yourself up for disappointment when you invest your time into people like her. This, this right here, yeah, it's classic Murphy. You think she's fine and good and it's all just great then- bam! - Out of the blue, she's gone. Then she's out getting stoned with her crack buddies every night. You're back at square one. And then she just randomly shows up, but trust me, she won't be here but a few hours until she's gone again. You know what? It's a cycle. Believe me, you don't want to get caught up in it."

"She's done this before?" Serenity asked, feeling disappointment towards her friend settle through her stomach.

"Ren," Leo said his voice half pity half exasperation, "It's been like this since we were, like, fourteen. Why do you think her father sent her here in the first place? He didn't want her running around the streets of_ his_ city. The media would catch on a hell of a lot easier, and that's the last thing he needs. Kaiba owed him a favor, a big one at that, so he shipped her over here. This is just what she does, Ren. It's her life. Mark my words, she'll be back at Kaiba's soon, and then, right when she's starting to gain some trust back, she'll leave."

Serenity stood up. "I've got to go." Leo was right. She _didn't _want to hear this.

"Serenity!" Leo called, "Wait! I'm just trying to help you out. You haven't grown up with these people like I have! I'm just trying to save you from being caught up in all of her crap. Murphy and I used to be close once, and you know what? It fucking sucks waiting around for her to show back up. Constantly worried about when she'll take off next. Just trust me, it's not worth it."

Serenity stopped. What Leo was saying made since, no matter how much she didn't want it to. "I've got to go to the bathroom," She lied, "I'll be right back."

Serenity pushed her way through the crowd fighting her way to the little wooden hallway she knew was on the opposite side of the building than the bathroom, but the hallway would be quiet, which was exactly what she wanted. Finally, Serenity was through the thicket of people, but she hadn't found the quiet she'd been looking for.

"…Over and over again! Can your mind even comprehend how completely irresponsible-"

"God, for once would you just leave me alone!"

Kaiba and Murphy, Serenity could recognize their voices instantly.

"I've been dealing with this for too long- with _you _for too long! You never learn, Murphy, and I think I'm starting to give up that you ever will."

"Then do it!" Murphy laughed, "Just give up! Quite frankly, I have no fucking idea why you've stuck around for as long as you have. You're wasting both of our time, and we both know it."

There was a pause. "You know why I-"

"Guilt." Murphy interrupted him flatly. "You're surprisingly susceptible to it when you want to be."

"The loan you're father gave my stepfather when-"

"Cut the bullshit. We both know why you haven't sent me back yet."

There was a pause. "That," Kaiba finally started slowly, "Was a long time ago-"

"Do you feel bad at all?" Murphy asked, her voice shaking slightly.

"Murphy…"

All of a sudden, Murphy was pushing past Serenity not even noticing who it was. Next came Kaiba, but he, unlike Murphy, realized that it was Serenity, and that she had heard at least some of what they were saying. His eyes narrowed dangerously at her, and before she could even open her mouth to form at sentence hissed, "You're fired."

"What?" Serenity yelped, but Kaiba was already shoving her aside. "You've got to be kidding me!" yelled after him, but he didn't reply. Feeling her prefect night starting to spiral to an end, Serenity also started to fight through the crowd in search of her friends.

Finally, Serenity could see the back of Stacey's blonde head, and quickly rushed to join her. ˚

"You know there's a guest list right? Not anybody can just walk in." Stacey had spat to someone Serenity couldn't see, but she had a feeling she knew who it was, just as she walked up.

"What's going on?" Serenity asked taking a step beside her, but was ignored.

"Really?" Murphy replied feigning surprise, "Then how did _that _get in?" She asked, her eyes glaring at Bex.

"Oh, please," Bex sneered, "Just get out of here, skank."

"Whoa now, is that not a bit of the pot calling the kettle black?" Murphy snapped back.

"Come on," Bex replied with a roll of her eyes, "Have you still not moved on from that?"

"Either way, it doesn't make you any less of a whore."

"What is going on?" Serenity cried in exasperation.

"Nothing," Bex snapped, "Mind your own business for once."

Serenity scowled, but ignored Bex's comment. "Are none of you really not going to tell me what's happening?"

"I'll tell you what's going on," Stacey said, turning straight towards Serenity, "You're either with _her _or with us. There's no Switzerland here, okay?" Serenity stared at the three. Was she serious? She couldn't be. People didn't actually say stuff like that. And why wasn't Murphy calling her words bullshit? Then in dawned on Serenity that she must believe the same. And with a wave of anger, Serenity realized that no matter what, she'd never win. To them, she'd always be doing something wrong.

Suddenly the music seemed too loud, the bass too strong, and the floor too crowded. What was she doing here? Why was wearing a dress that cost as much as a pony? She didn't belong with these people, or in crazy lives. And without another word, Serenity turned on her heel and started walking away.

"Where are you going?" Stacey hissed, but Serenity ignored her. She searched for the door, her heart beating faster than usual. Leo would, no doubt, hear of, though a slightly twisted version of course, Serenity leaving. There was no need to find him, but there was one other person she needed to talk to.

Seto Kaiba was no longer standing alone, but was now in the midst of a group of older men, most likely discussing business, but possibly politics. Without hesitation, Serenity marched up to him, ignoring the slightly confused stares from the others. "Thank you," She said, her voice almost breaking into laughter "So, so much. If you hadn't have fired me for absolutely no reason about three, maybe five, minutes ago, I wouldn't have an excuse to get out of you and all your little buddy's messed up little lives, because you know what? I'm sick of it! So like I said, thank you. I owe you one."

Without waiting to see his reaction, Serenity walked away from the group, her head held high. She already knew where she was going to go, and it certainly wouldn't be the apartment Kaiba had bought, or even her Aunt and Uncle's. She'd have to retrieve her stuff eventually, but until then she had an idea of a couple that wouldn't mind letting her crash on their couch for a few days. Until she finally found her own place, that is, which was on the top of Serenity's mental to-do list.

Serenity heard her name being called as she walked out the double doors, but she ignored it, not really caring who it was. She was ready to go home, to her _real _home. Where she should have been all along.

Though her mind, though spinning with thoughts, both angry and confused, she was sure of one thing; She would never make those mistakes again. That was the last time she'd assume people we're good, the last time she'd let material possessions blind her, and the last she'd call someone she barely knew, let alone a whole group of people, a friend. She'd been wrong to assume the naivety she'd been notorious for was behind her. Taking a deep breath, Serenity started to put her hand and called for a cab. As much as she wanted to walk, Joey's apartment was on the other side of the city and she'd never make it before daybreak. And, though the entire life that she'd led for the past year had just crashed to the ground, Serenity felt an odd since of relief. As if finally something was going they way it should, or at least maybe, for the first time in who knows how long, it was about to.

**A/N So I kind of consider this like the end of part one. Things will be pretty different from here on out. Anyway, I hoped you liked it! Please review! Please, please, **_**please**_**! Reviews might double the speed of an update, if that persuades you at all. Eh, probably doesn't, but still! Regardless, thanks for reading, and thanks to those of you who have reviewed so far! **

**-AP **


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Everything belongs to ****Kazuki Takahashi. Lucky duck. **

"I'm leaving!" Serenity called to her brother, who was laying sideways on his lumpy brown couch, shoveling half a chilidog into his mouth. He gave her a one-handed wave, hardly giving her a second glance he was so mesmerized by the movie he and his girlfriend were watching. Serenity walked out of the apartment with a slight shake of her head, grabbing her wallet and keys on the way out as she did so.

She trampled down the steps from the third floor, not feeling like dealing with unusually slow elevator. School, which she had thankfully been allowed to transfer back to Domino High for the last part of, had ended only a week ago, and already Serenity was getting into the relaxed, easy going feel of summer.

Taking a left turn, Serenity made it out of her building and was on her way to work. It hadn't taken her too long to find another job after Kaiba had fired her; you only needed a few months with Seto Kaiba as your boss on a resume to impress. Her new job, however, she found much more enjoyable, and much less stressful. She was currently working at a small coffee shop only about a quarter of a mile away from where the brunette lived, and she couldn't ask for a better post if she tried.

"Hi, Serenity!" Livi, one of the owner's two daughters, called from her spot behind the counter as she leaned forward to talk to a particularly good-looking customer, making her sister Jenna roll her eyes.

"I swear I'm going to strangle that child one day." Jenna declared, tying her maroon apron around her waist.

"Oh come on, she hasn't done anything yet." Serenity grinned as Livi outwardly flirted with the boy, who seemed only too happy to comply.

Jenna's eyebrow rose, but she retreated behind the counter, muttering under her breath and throwing a glare towards her younger sister.

Serenity smiled slightly and started to walk to the back room to grab a stack of Styrofoam cups, as she had noticed they were almost out up front. She stopped along the way to grab her daily on-the-house cup of coffee. Serenity poured in a sufficient amount of cream and sugar, then went to the back and grabbed a crate to sit on. She sipped her coffee for a little while, head resting against the wall and her eyes shut, before she heard her name being called.

"What is it, Livi?" She asked, finishing off her last gulp of coffee.

"Okay, so outside, there's, like, this guy asking for you, and oh my God, Serenity, he's so cute, but kind of mean… Anyway, he's asking to see you and I swear I've seen him before, but my God, you don't even know, he's _so _cute! And-"

"Got it, Liv." Serenity said with a frown. Could she be talking about Joey? Her brother stopped by every once in a while to say hello, so wouldn't Livi had seen him already? Besides, though her brother was pretty good looking, Livi was usually only into guys who resembled Calvin Klein models.

Serenity dropped her empty cup into the trashcan on her way, but before she emerged into the main room stopped dead in her tracks.

"Is he an ex?" Livi persisted, standing on her toes trying to see over Serenity's shoulder.

Technically he was, but not in the way Livi was thinking. The boy was actually Seto Kaiba, her ex-boss, and not someone she had particularly been looking forward to ever meeting again. "Look, Livi, I'm not here." She said quickly, turning on her heel to retreat to the back room before Kaiba could see her.

"So he _is _an ex-boyfriend?" Livi pressed, now practically jumping up and down to get another look at Kaiba.

"Yeah, sure." Serenity said with a touch of agitation. Why was Kaiba here to see her? She hadn't broken anything while she was working at Kaiba Corp. …Had she? "Just get rid of him for me, please Livi!"

"Wait, so if you're over him, then would you mind if I _-_" Livi started with a hopeful look in her eyes.

"You can do whatever you want with Kaiba, I really don't-"

"OMG is that Seto Kai-" Her eyes now as side as saucers as she reached down and grabbed an empty crate to stand on.

"Livi!" Serenity hissed, as she noticed Kaiba's navy eyes had flicked up at the sound of his name. She quickly pulled the girl back to the ground and around the corner. Maybe Jenna was right. This girl _should _be strangled.

How had Kaiba found out where she worked anyway? Stalker.

"Go get rid of him!" Serenity groaned.

Livi stopped to fix her hair and add another coat of lip-gloss, then, much to Serenity's relief, flounced out the door. But unfortunately a few seconds later the girl walked back through looking rather dejected. "He hardly even looked at me!" She whined. "It was like I wasn't even-"

"Is he still there?" Serenity interrupted, not having time for Livi's quibbles, which she already was forced to listen to for hours on end.

"Oh, yeah. Um, he told me to tell me to tell you that, um, he's not stupid or blind, so, yeah…"

"Great." Serenity groaned. She untied her apron and walked to the front, an all-too-familiar since of dread settling in her stomach.

Kaiba hadn't even bothered to sit down, but was drumming his fingers impatiently on the wooden counter top, a look of annoyance on his face. _He's not even _that _cute. _Serenity decided firmly. Well…it was sort of true.

"Can I help you with something?" Serenity asked, trying to act like she didn't feel nervous, which she absolutely did, but there was no way she'd let Kaiba know that.

"Yes, actually," Kaiba replied, his blue eyes never leaving Serenity's brown, which made her feel even more jittery, "Do you remember the first day you started at Kaiba Corp.?" He demanded.

Serenity blinked. "Um, yeah, I guess." She frowned, not really understanding where this was going.

"Then I trust you remember the contract you signed saying you would work out the remainder of last school year and through the summer. That document was legally binding, Miss. Wheeler. So in other words," Kaiba continued, his eyes narrowing, "you still owe me two and a half months of work."

Serenity stared blankly at the CEO. _He _had fired _her. _Did Kaiba not remember any of that? The way he was glowering at her made it seem like she randomly quit as opposed to him randomly firing her.

"No way," Serenity found herself saying, "That's ridiculous. I work here now. End of story. If I remember correctly, _you _were the one who-"

"I expect you back tomorrow morning, or I'll be forced to take legal action." He growled, and Serenity's jaw dropped.

"You've got to be kidding me!" She cried, "You fired me!"

"The circumstances under which you left your position are unimportant. You'll be at Kaiba Corp. tomorrow morning-"

"No!" Serenity snapped, surprising even herself. "Look, if you wanted me to work for you, then you shouldn't have fired me, okay?"

Kaiba was silent for a minute then said, "In order for this to work out, either I would have to pay you for the time you were not working-" Here he gave Serenity a glare as she had opened her mouth to say that this was how it _should _be done considering he was the one who had broken the contract, but was silenced, "Or you're going to have to continue working. And keep in mind, Wheeler, if you choose the first route I will make this is as exceedingly difficult as possible, with absolutely every legal case my lawyers can put together thrown at you."

Serenity hesitated. She didn't want to go back to Kaiba Corp. Not in the slightest. But if she knew anything about Kaiba, she knew he was telling the truth. There was no way she could get out of this easily. "I hate you so much." She groused, and with a start she realized how much she sounded like Murphy, but quickly shook it off.

Kaiba frowned at Serenity a moment. "I'll give you some time to think it over." He said finally. He was turning around to leave, but suddenly stopped.

"One more thing, Wheeler." He paused for a minute, and much to Serenity's surprise, a smirk started to tug at the corners of his lips. "Why is your co-worker under the impression that you and I were once romantically involved?"

Serenity felt her cheeks heat up. "I- No- I mean- I was just trying to-"

"Save it, Wheeler." Kaiba interrupted. Smirk still in place, the CEO strode out of the coffee shop, leaving Serenity gaping after him, even more confused that she'd been thirty seconds ago.

"Did he say anything about me?" Livi wanted to know, coming up behind her.

"Oh, yes," Serenity said flatly, staring at the door Kaiba had just walked out of, "tons."

"I don't get why he wants me working for him so much." Serenity grumbled as she sat, her back leaning against the arms of the couch across from Mai, who was doing the same.

"Well, have you not heard any of the rumors?" The blonde asked, cocking her head to the side and leaning forward slightly. Due to her connections with the fashion world, it turned out Mai was very much in tuned with the society she'd left behind. Or, at least had tried to. With this new prospect of returning to Kaiba Corp, Serenity worried she might be running into people she'd rather avoid…

"Apparently," Mai continued, "he's had quiet a lot of trouble finding new assistants since you and that other girl left."

"What? Why?" Serenity asked, genuinely surprised. "I thought Kaiba's assistant was a fairly sought after job."

"Oh, it is, or was, at least. Think about it, who usually gets those jobs?" Mai asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.

Serenity thought a minute. "People he knows. Or, are connected to the people he knows, anyways."

"Exactly." Mai replied, pointed a finger at her. "Think about it, that one girl flat out disappeared, and not but, what was it-a few weeks later maybe? And all of a sudden no one sees you either. I mean, you're fine, obviously, but do you think those girls would tell their parents exactly what happened that night? Of course not! It'd put them in a bad light. So to all those parents, who would be the ones to send their kid to Kaiba in the first place, you've vanished."

Serenity blinked. "…Are you saying they think Kaiba killed us?"

"No! But there are other things that can make someone want to run off." Mai said darkly.

Serenity had never considered something like that. For a millisecond she felt sorry for the CEO, but as soon as it had came, it was gone. This was all Kaiba's fault anyway. "I don't know what to do!" Serenity groaned, slumping down into the couch.

"Well," Mai bent down to pick up one of glossy magazines she kept on the coffee table, "was working for Kaiba really that bad?"

Serenity thought for a minute. "Kind of." She sighed. "I mean, the work was hard, and he wasn't exactly Mr. Friendly, but, I could tolerate it. And I don't want to go through all that legal crap. I'd have no idea what to do."

"It's your choice," Mai shrugged. "No one else can make it for you."

"I wish they would." Serenity muttered. "I really hated the hours." She noted after a minute of silence. "I was there _all the time_! It sucked."

"Then tell him that." Mai said, not looking up from her magazine, "Negotiate."

Serenity hadn't even thought about this. "Doubt he would. I don't think he takes me seriously enough for that kind of thing."

"You'd be surprised." Mai mused. "I thought the same when I entered the fashion industry, but I found out the more I expected them to, the more they did. I mean, sure, there were a few jerks along the way. There are everywhere, you just have to brush them off and keep going."

"What if Kaiba's one of those jerks, though?" Serenity frowned.

"He tracked you down at your work, Serenity," Mai smirked, putting her magazine, which upon further inspection Serenity found to be _Lucky_, an American magazine that honestly Serenity couldn't believe Mai took the time to track down every month, back on the coffee table, "he obviously can't afford _not_ to take you seriously."

"Not true." Serenity said instantly. "There's nothing Kaiba can't afford."

Mai rolled her eyes. "You sound like your brother, you know that? And you know what I meant."

Serenity didn't reply, but picked up the _Lucky_ Mai had abandoned and pretended to flip through the pages. This wasn't fair. It would be Kaiba to put her in such a situation. That selfish, inconsiderate, egotistical-

"You know that's upside down right?"

Serenity blinked and focused her eyes on the magazine, then seeing her mistake laughed. "Whoops."

"Here's an idea. Go down to Kaiba's office tomorrow, see if you two can work something out, and if not…well then, we'll just have to work on finding you a lawyer, won't we?"

"Suppose so." Serenity sighed. She flipped over onto her back and stared at the peeling ceiling above her. "Do you think Joey will go for any of this? He wasn't exactly disappointed when he found out I wasn't working fir Kaiba anymore."

Mai shrugged her shoulders. "Probably not. But since when has that stopped you? Besides, he'll come around. He did last time. And that was before you were living with us."

Serenity shifted uncomfortably. Mai and Joey weren't exactly aware that she was planning on moving out soon. Joey, who had always been overprotective, trusted her judgment even less than he did before. He'd even been leery of her getting a job at the coffee place, even though he'd been visiting it on an at least weekly basis for months.

"Well, speak of the devil!" Mai beamed as Joey walked in, a brown paper bag of muffins in his hand. "Serenity wanted to tell you something. Didn't you Serenity?"

Serenity glared at the blonde. "Nope. Not really."

"Oh, come on!" Mai pressed, "He's a big boy! He can take it!"

Serenity stared from Mai's expectant face, to Joey's curious one. "Um… I think we should get a cat." Mai scowled, and Joey frowned slightly in confusion.

"You hate cats. 'Sides, you know I'm allergic." Joey said, flopping down into an armchair.

"That's not what-" Mai started, but Serenity quickly cut her off.

"What I mean to say! Yeah, thanks Mai," She said, shooting the blonde girl a glare. "I, uh, dog. Yeah. We should _totally _get a dog."

Joey and Mai both stared blankly at her. Serenity felt a little guilty (it was an unwritten rule to never use the d-word around Joey) but she wanted to already have something ready to say before she ever brought up the concept of working at Kaiba Corp. again.

"Well…okay." Joey nodded. "Whys not?"

"What?" Serenity and Mai both exclaimed at the same time, Mai's look of horror only slightly more prominent than Serenity's.

"Lissin, 'Renity, if ya really wanna dog, den we'll getta dog." Her brother said firmly.

"Um… thanks?" Serenity said, utterly perplexed. Joey was supposed to have said no, and then Serenity would have found an excuse to leave before Mai brought up what she was actually supposed to be telling him about. In fact, Serenity really _didn't _want a dog. She wasn't much of an animal person…

"So, Serenity," Mai said, still glaring at her, "What kind of dog are you planning on getting?"

"Um…a…uh, St. Bernard?" Serenity replied, naming one of the only dog breeds she knew.

"Good choice!" Joey nodded. "Nice 'n fuzzy aren't dey?"

Mai gaped at the two. "But- but- those _drool!" _She cried, looking from Joey to Serenity.

"Oh hey, it's seven! I've, uh, got to meet someone at the…mall. I'll see you guys later!" Without another word Serenity quickly zipped out of the apartment. She wasn't really worried about a dog of course. It would blow over soon, as most ideas her brother had usually did. Kaiba, however… Serenity sighed and fell into a slightly falling apart armchair she was pretty sure someone had left in one the apartments when they moved, which had been placed in the lobby of the building. He would force her back in right when she was finally starting to get some peace. She'd have to go back down to Kaiba Corp. tomorrow. _That won't suck or anything_, She thought with an eye roll. Serenity took a deep breath. She'd think about that when she got there…

Surprisingly enough, however, the next day when she woke up, Kaiba Corp. was the last thing on her mind.

"Joey!" Serenity gasped sitting up in her bed, "I- shouldn't we've maybe stopped to talk about this a little more!"

Her brother stood over her, an abnormally large brown and white puppy in his arms, a grin stretched across his face. "His name's Lugnut!" Joey said, scratching the puppy behind his ears as he sat him on Serenity's bed.

"I- you actually went out and bought- I mean, he's _huge _but- did you just say Lugnut?"

"Joey!" Mai called, sounding incredibly annoyed, "It's the landlord… He's pissed."

"Dammit." Joey muttered, "I'll be right back." Leaving Lugnut on Serenity's bed, Joey left the room, cursing under his breath.

He really was pretty cute, once you got passed the drool. Brown patches covered his eyes and ears, plus his tail wagged adorably when you patted his head. Not to mention how when you rubbed his soft white belly he practically howled with joy.

"He's just a puppy!" Serenity head Joey insist, and cringed slightly. The last thing they needed was to be kicked out of their apartment.

"Puppy? That thing's a cow! Or a bear maybe! We have a ten pound weight limit on dogs, Mr. Wheeler! That thing probably eats ten pounds for breakfast-"

Serenity stared down at Lugnut. "How much _do_ you eat anyway?" Lugnut's eyes flicked towards her, but he quickly resumed chewing the corner of Serenity's pillow. "You know what, puppy, none of this would of happened if Kaiba hadn't of-" But then Serenity stopped, and a small smile started to work it's way onto her face. _She _might not have the space or money to take care of a 150-pound dog, but Kaiba certainly would. Serenity grinned down at the puppy. Maybe Joey's rashness wasn't so bad after all…

**A/N Thanks for reading! Please review, and thank you to all who did last chapter! That was awesome of you! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. As per usual. **

Serenity barged through the door of Seto Kaiba's office, not knocking, and acting a lot braver than she actually felt. The landlord had basically told Joey (much to Mai's relief) either the dog went or they did. There was no way Serenity would let the puppy go to the pound, animals may not be her passion but she'd never do that, and Kaiba was the only person she knew who had a backyard, so really this was all _completely_ justified. Really, the fact that she hated his guts had absolutely nothing to do with it.

"This dog has been slobbering all over my leg for the past hour and it's all your fault." Serenity told him blankly, Lugnut's blue leash clasped tightly enough in her hand so that the puppy wouldn't pull her over, which he had almost managed to do twice.

The CEO blinked, and then his eyes traveled to the St. Bernard puppy. Finally he slowly said, "Get that _thing _out of my office." Kaiba stared at Lugnut, who was running in circles chasing his tail. "And you're three hours late."

Serenity inwardly rolled her eyes at his last comment, but decided she would get into that whole ordeal later. "Glad you like him, because guess what. He's yours."

Kaiba's eyes flicked up. "What?"

Serenity, helping herself to a chair in front of Kaiba's desk, sat down and told the whole story to Kaiba. "… So if you never would have bombarded me at work, or fired me in the first place, you're choice really, then I wouldn't have this problem to begin with."

The blue-eyed boy had not stopped staring at the puppy the entire time Serenity spoke, a look of mild disgust on his face. "I'm still not taking it." He said flatly.

"Why not?" Serenity whined. She _needed_ him to take Lugnut!

"You won't take my job, I won't take your dog." Kaiba replied simply, and then went back to his computer.

Serenity paused. She hadn't thought of that. "The job," She nodded, "I was going to bring that up in a minute." Lie. She was actually going to try to make her escape once she was sure Lugnut had a safe home.

"You'll be taking it then." Kaiba pressed, his eyes narrowing.

"Will you be taking Lugnut?" Serenity challenged.

"If you remember, Wheeler, under the circumstance that you refuse-"

"Why do you want me working for you anyway? I saw the blonde girl out there. It's not like you need me here."

Kaiba stopped, staring at her with what could only be defined as pure hatred. Not that Serenity wasn't used to that. "Why you are required to be under my employment doesn't matter. What does is that you are."

"Look are you- I mean, if you- I'm not really interested in having a-" Kaiba raised an eyebrow, his eyes so dangerous Serenity could instantly tell he knew what she was thinking. Which was all that was needed to shut Serenity up. Seto Kaiba wanting anything to do with her romantically? Definitely not. "Um, let's just forget that thought even passed through my head." She mumbled, staring at her feet. It was a good thing she didn't have a crush on Seto, because then she'd feel like a total moron. Oh wait. She still did.

"You're lucky I've decided to overlook that." The CEO said sharply, and Serenity couldn't bring herself to look him in the eyes when she muttered, "Yeah. Thanks, I guess."

There was an awkward pause before Serenity said, "He's really kind of a cool dog."

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "I don't have time for this. Unless you're here to talk about your employment, it's time for you to go. And take that thing with you."

"What? No, please!" Serenity cried.

"I have a meeting in ten minutes, and then am booked for the rest of the day, so unless you want security called on you, I suggest-"

"Is there any other time we can talk? Today, I mean?" Serenity asked, knowing (and despising) the begging tone in her voice.

Kaiba paused, and then said slowly, as if still thinking it over, "I'll be home at eleven. We can discuss the matter then. _Shortly._"

"Right," Serenity smiled, "Eleven. I'll see you then." Tugging the puppies leash slightly, Serenity quickly left her scowling ex-boss's building, having to slightly drag the puppy along behind her.

So it hadn't been a total fail, Serenity told herself. And if he was willing to meet again, that most likely meant he would at least consider the idea.

Serenity stared down at Lugnut, who had plopped down on the sidewalk for a break, refusing to take another step. "You know what puppy? Do me a favor and chew up every pair of Italian loafers that guy owns." Lugnut let out a whine and started scratching behind his ears. Serenity grinned. She'd take that as a yes.

* * *

The first thing she noticed when her cab pulled into the driveway of Kaiba's mansion was that it looked empty. Then again, it was eleven o'clock, so she guessed the staff would have left by now. Or, at least the ones who weren't stuck with the night shift, which Serenity was sure, knowing Kaiba, that there should be a ton of.

Serenity knocked on the door and was quite surprised when it was Seto himself that answered. Before she could stop herself, she couldn't help but ask, "Wow have you already fired all your servants?"

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Are you coming in or not?"

Serenity nodded and followed him inside.

"And they all have the night off, if you were really wondering." Kaiba said over his shoulder. Serenity was reminded of the awful night she'd spent homeless and had ended up staying at the Kaiba mansion, and remembered how much more relaxed the CEO was in his own house. He was almost human.

"Watch where that fleabag steps. I don't want grime on the floors, they were just polished yesterday." Kaiba said his eyes narrowing as he watched Lugnut.

Serenity rolled her brown eyes. Like I said, she thought, _almost _human.

The two didn't say anything more until Seto had led her to a small kitchen just across from the den she remembered watching a movie with Mokuba in. It was small and too average to be the only one in the Kaiba mansion, but it was cozy and Serenity rather liked it. Seto motioned for her to sit in one of the wooden chairs around the table, and Serenity complied. "What's Mokuba up to?" Serenity asked, breaking the silence between them.

"He's spending the night at a friends house."

Serenity nodded, then froze, realizing how alone they really were. What if he was even more than a creep than she realized? Or what if he was actually a crazed murder just waiting for the perfect time to get rid of her? Or what if-

"Do you want anything?"

"What?" Serenity asked, jumping slightly. "Oh," Serenity blushed slightly, "Um, no thanks. I'm fine." She watched him grab a glass, then a wine bottle, and then turn back to her.

"Are you sure you don't want anything?" He asked, tilting his head towards the bottle.

"I'm sure. Thanks though." She paused then asked, "Has anyone ever told you that you act really different here than you do at Kaiba Corp.?"

The corners of the CEO's mouth lifted just enough for Serenity to notice. "No." He replied, "But not many of my employees have been in my home before. And what do you mean different?"

"What you don't take your work home with you?"

"My work? Always. Just not my workers, and you didn't answer my question."

Serenity frowned. She should have known he would have noticed that. "I don't know," She sighed, "Just different. Nicer, I guess."

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "Nicer? I'm not exactly a nice person."

"Yeah, I've noticed, thanks."

Kaiba ignored her.

"I suppose it's just because I'm not at Kaiba Corp." He mused, "At this hour you're not really working for me-" I don't work for you at all, Serenity thought with a mental eye roll. "So there's not as much of a need to remind you that I'm the boss."

"Yes, because we all tend to forget that. It's not like your name's in the company or something."

Kaiba chuckled slightly, and Serenity had to keep her jaw from dropping. Did Seto Kaiba just _laugh? _She was pretty sure that was a first. And then another thing hit her. She had been the one to make him. Well, there was her claim to fame.

"Look, so about this whole ordeal with the dog-"

But before she could finish her sentence, Kaiba was standing up, his eyes narrowed. It only took a second for Serenity to realize that it had nothing to do with their conversation.

"Uh, what's going on?" Serenity asked, turning around in her chair to see to bright headlights coming up the driveway, loud music blaring from the car.

"Hush!"

Not but a few seconds later, the car swerved through the grass to the front door, and the music stopped.

"Dude, holy shit." One guy laughed as he climbed out of the car.

"Do you think she got the address wrong?" The second asked. "She doesn't seem like one of those rich-girl types."

"I don't know, I could see it. I mean a lot of rich girls have all sorts of daddy issues."

There was a pause before the same one asked, "So what do we do now?"

"Get her out of the car and make sure she gets to the door, then we bail. That chick's totally fucked up right now, if they see us with her they'll think we had something to do with it."

One of the two boys pulled a figure out of the car and called over his shoulder. "Dude, what if she, like, pukes all over my back?"

"Seriously man, who fucking cares? Just get her up there and ring the doorbell so we can get out of here."

"I don't want to ring the doorbell! What if her parents come out and are all, 'What the hell happened to our daughter?' I don't wanna be caught up in that shit."

"Uh, _hello_. We're brining them their daughter back. If they see us we'll probably get a reward or something. Rich people are totally into rewards."

One of the two boys lumbered to the door and dropped the person on the ground. Serenity's stomach gave a jolt. She'd had a feeling she'd known who it was, but seeing it confirmed gave her chills. Sure enough, the boys followed through with their plans, and after they'd laid Murphy down, drove off, still swerving slightly as they went.

"Stay here." Serenity had almost forgotten the CEO was even there, but before she could even form a question to ask him, he had disappeared down the hallway.

When he came back, Murphy was hanging over one shoulder, her skin paler than usual and her eyes shut.

"Wheeler, grab my Blackberry from my briefcase- it's in the den- and call Roland. He's two on speed dial."

Serenity nodded. She ran to the den and grabbed the phone, which was conveniently laid neatly on top. "Um, Roland? Hi, Seto told me to call you-"

"Of course." Than replied instantly, "I'll be there in five."

Back in the kitchen, Kaiba was crouched down, holding the kneeling brunette's hair back as she threw up into a red bucket, a disgusted look on his face as he did so.

"He said he'd be there in five." Serenity said.

"Go bring the towels from the bathroom of the guest bedroom you were in." Kaiba commanded, not missing a beat.

"Right." Serenity nodded, and was glad she remembered where that was.

A few minutes later she came back from the guest bedroom, her arms filled with as many towels as she could carry. She handed the armload to Seto, who laid them down for Murphy to lie on.

"So tonight was the night, was it?" Roland asked as he came through the door. "You know, I thought you were just being paranoid, but you were right about this one."

"Wait, you knew this was going to happen?" Serenity asked, but was ignored.

"Can you handle it?" Kaiba asked Roland. The man bent down and examined Murphy, a frown forming on his face.

"They get progressively worse, don't they?" He mused, his face solemn. "I'm not sure." He admitted, straightening up. "This may be 'the one'." He said gravely standing up, "And if it is, we don't have time to waste. We should get her into a hospital-"

"We can't take her to a hospital! Do you know what the repercussions of that would be?"

"I don't know if we have much of a choice." Roland replied firmly.

"Not a chance!" Kaiba hissed back. The two glared at each other, and Serenity had the feeling they could tell what the other was thinking without even having to speak.

"If something happens or goes wrong-" Roland started.

"It will be on my conscious and my conscious alone."

"Fine." Roland said curtly, "Then get out and leave me to it."

Serenity knew for a fact that she'd never seen anyone talk to the CEO like that, but to her surprise, Kaiba only nodded and walked out of the room. Serenity followed at his heels.

"You knew this was going to happen?" Serenity demanded again.

"I had a feeling." Kaiba replied, not looking back at her.

"Is that why you had me come here?" Seto didn't reply. "It is, isn't it? You knew I wouldn't get her- and ultimately _you_- in trouble by telling anyone."

Still, there was no reply.

"And that's why Mokuba's not here, and all of the rest of the staff besides Roland. They might leak something. Maybe I _will _tell someone!"

"And ruin Murphy's life? Just ask her, sending her back to her parents would be a fate worse than death."

"Well, maybe it'd be what she-"

"Or Roland and Mokuba. They wouldn't be able to leave the house with all the press that would be swarming around. I don't think you would do that to them."

Serenity frowned. He was right of course.

"You planned this really well. You wanted me at the office so you would have-"

"An excuse to fire my current secretary, and if Murphy came stumbling in one afternoon it would be just us on the floor when it happened. No one else would find out what happened. Thank you, Wheeler, but I don't need it fed to me. Obviously I already know what I was doing."

"You know what Kaiba? Only you could figure out a way to manipulate- Oh my God. Where's Lugnut?"

For the first time, Kaiba stopped. "You lost the dog?" He growled.

"_The _dog? He's all yours now, buddy."

"Find it now or I swear to God I will-"

"I think you're looking for this." Roland said, walking out into the hallway, the dog at his heels. "He was cowering under the table. A bit too much excitement for him I think. Is he yours?" He asked Serenity.

A second of silence passed and then, "No," Seto sighed, stepping in front of Serenity, "He's Mokuba's."

Serenity knew this was the part where she was expected to thank him, but she didn't want to even look at the CEO, let alone say thank you.

"Right. Well, now that that's settled, I'm calling a cab." Serenity said, grabbing her cell phone out of her handbag.

"I'll drive you."

Serenity looked up at Seto. He was just yelling at her, and now he was offering to take the dog _and_ drive her home? Come to think of it, they had been getting along okay before the whole ordeal with Murphy came up. And suddenly, Serenity felt a pang of annoyance. Of course Murphy would just happen to come in the middle of things, she thought bitterly. And right after was horrified. What was she thinking! It's not like she even wantedto be alone with Kaiba. God, she needed to get some sleep. Because this was _definitely _her tired, over-stresses brain working. Not her. Definitely not her.

"I'm fine." Serenity responded, walking towards the front door, but she could hear the sound of footsteps behind her, and she knew she wouldn't end up taking a taxi.

Sure enough, she was lead to a large garage that she hadn't even noticed before.

When she walked in, it took all of her self-control not to gasp. Sure, she had known the kid was loaded, but _whoa. _Serenity vaguely wondered what it would be like to be able to buy a new car as if it were a toy and nothing else.

Seto climbed into a sleek black Mercedes, and Serenity followed suit.

"Is this one you favorite?" She asked before she could stop herself.

"No," The blue-eyed boy replied in a bored voice, "It's just the one closest to the door."

Again, must be nice.

The two sat in a, in Serenity's opinion, extremely awkward silence for a while. And just when the girl had decided it would have been far better to take a cab, the silence was broken.

"Listen," Seto turned his head slightly to Serenity and for a second she thought she was about to be lectured (on what she didn't know) but instead he continued, "I'd like to offer you your job back. Honestly, and without force, this time."

Serenity was about to open her mouth to tell him that there was no way in hell that she would ever work for him again when but a quick, though not as threatening as usual, glare stopped her.

"I know you didn't particularly enjoy working for Kaiba Corp.," Yeah, you could say that, Serenity thought, but she kept silent, "However, I was thinking of you doing something not in an office position."

"What you mean something besides coffee runs all day?"

"Yes." There was a pause before he continued, "I'll be willing to pay you twice what you were making as a secretary."

Though this news should have been great, especially considering Kaiba paid well already, Serenity couldn't help but frown slightly. She thought back to the night of Stacey's party, Murphy's words echoing in her head. _Guilt, you're surprisingly susceptible to it when you want to be. _

"Is this your form of apologizing for trying to manipulate my life to suit your convenience?" Serenity asked.

For a minute Seto didn't answer her, and Serenity was starting to wonder if she was being ignored, when he replied, "I suppose if you want to take it that way you may." Did that mean yes? Serenity decided to believe so.

"What would this job be?" Serenity asked out of curiosity more than anything else.

"It wouldn't be completely out of the office," Kaiba admitted, "At least not until Murphy can come back to work again, but you would only spend half a day there."

"And where would I spend the other half?"

"At home," Seto replied, "My home, that it, with Mokuba. Now that school's out he's home by himself all day."

Serenity tipped her head to the side in thought. She could live with spending half a day with Mokuba. He was a nice, mature kid. Well, as long as she kept the sugar away from him. But then again, she actually did like her job at the coffee shop.

"You don't have to make the decision now," Seto told her as he pulled over to the curb, "But I'd like to hear back before the week is over."

Serenity realized she he dropping her off at the coffee shop she worked.

"I wasn't sure where your building was." Kaiba said when he noticed her looking out the window.

"No, it's fine. I'm just about a block away from her." Besides, Kaiba knowing where she lived still sort of made her uneasy. She was, after all, Joey Wheeler's sister. "And thank you for the offer, really, I mean it, but I think I'm happy where I-" Serenity stopped in her tracks, because there hanging on the door was a small cardboard sign that read, "GOING OUT OF BUISNESS", written in red marker.

Seto had gotten out of the car and was now standing beside her, most likely to see what she was staring at.

"Did you do this?" She demanded, but the boy had a look of mild surprise on his face, which, for him, she knew meant he was pretty taken back. "I swear that wasn't there this-" Serenity stopped. Actually, now that she thought about it, she hadn't been there that morning at all. And her boss was always talking about moving back to New York, where he was originally from. She'd just never really taken him seriously.

"So you'll start Monday?" Kaiba asked, not being able to keep the amusement out of his voice as Serenity stood, staring dumbstruck at the place in which she was no longer employed.

"Yeah," Serenity replied with a sigh, finally being able to speak again, "I guess I'll be starting Monday."

**A/N Thanks for reading! Sorry that took so long (as usual) I've been out of town for the past month, with no computer access. But enough excuses for today. I changed the summary, I thought the new one fit the story better. Please review! Please, please, please! As you can tell, I am definitely not above begging. Thanks again for reading! **

** ~AP**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I own nothing recognizable. **

Life at the Kaiba house was very different than Serenity thought it would be. She'd imagined spending quiet hours alone with Mokuba in the den while she read a book and he did whatever it was twelve-year-old boys did. Unfortunately, there was one, or rather, two things she hadn't counted on.

"Yes, yes, _My Fair Lady _is _okay_, but there's no way it could even hope to compare to _Breakfast at Tiffany's._" Said Marx Edgar Anatolius III, the new, completely insufferable boyfriend of Murphy. As soon as she'd recovered, she'd been taking off everyday to someplace she refused to speak of. Roland and Serenity had been afraid it had something to do with drugs, that maybe this time she'd dug herself a whole so deep even with Kaiba's help she couldn't get out of (not that she'd spoken a word to Seto at all since she'd been there), but instead one day showed up with Marx, the son of some billionaire or another, and who spoke with, what Roland and Serenity were convinced was, a fake, British accent, and also was convinced he and he alone were the expert on everything there was to know about good taste.

"Well, of course," Murphy agreed (as she always did), "But that's only because Holly Golightly is _so _much more memorable than Eliza Doolittle."

"I don't know," Serenity chimed, "I really liked Eliza."

Marx, who Serenity hated more and more everyday, turned to her with a smirk and said, "Well. That's a rather large disappointment, isn't it?"

"Yeah?" Serenity growled, "And why is that?"

"Because, as a woman, Holly would be higher on the feminist scale that _Eliza _could ever hope to be. She's independent, driven, and-"

"A prostitute." Came a voice from the door. Serenity turned to see her boss, briefcase still in hand, with a look of agitation, stronger than Serenity could recall seeing before, on his face. Apparently she and Roland weren't the only ones in the house who'd had enough of this guy.

"Well, yes, but if you really _got _the film then you would understand that her being a prostitute it a metaphor." Marx said with a small smile, as if forgiving Seto's ignorance. "As Friedrich Nietzsche said, _'While one man can discover a certain thing by himself, another is never able to understand it, even if taught by means of all possible expressions and metaphors, and during a long period; his mind can in no way grasp it, his capacity is insufficient for it'_.

This did not go over well.

"I'll start by having you know," The CEO growled, "that in no way was Holly being a prostitute a metaphor. And second off, that it was not Friedrich Nietzsche who said that, it was Maimonides. And lastly you pathetic scum-bag-"

But Murphy had grabbed Marx, who looked like he was either in shock or was about to try and attack Seto, by the shoulder and was pulling him out of the room.

A few seconds of silence passed before Serenity said, "Mokuba was doing really well with his French today. I couldn't understand him of course, but he said a whole paragraph without having to stop and think at all."

Seto nodded once. This looked like it was going to be all she would get out of him.

"Well, I guess I'm going to go home now." Serenity said. No reply. Then again, she hadn't expected one. However, as she started walking down the hallway, Kaiba's footsteps could be heard behind her. It was one of those unspoken things. Seto always drove her home, even though she never asked and he never offered. Serenity always had her mind set to call a taxi to come get her, just incase today might be that one day he changed his mind, but for the past week and a half he never had.

There were a few things about her boss that these drives had taught her. The first one was that he never listened to music. Ever. Serenity wondered why he even bothered buying the souped-up stereos for his cars (three of which Serenity had now ridden in), but then again, it was Kaiba, so she wasn't really surprised that all of his vehicles had to perfect in every single way. The second was that he wasn't one of those people who felt obligated to talk during car rides. Serenity, however, was one of these people, which had led to many awkward failed attempts at conversations. Serenity had given that up, obviously. And the third, and to her, the most interesting, was that she was pretty sure Seto didn't actually go home after dropping her off. There was no way he was. Serenity knew the road he took after he left her on the curb outside her old workplace, and she knew for a fact that it was a dead-end. She'd tried to think of all the places on that street, but none of them seemed like anything that would interest the CEO. The only thing she could come up with was that he must have some sort of girlfriend living in that area, and decided that, just in case that really was why he went down there every night, never to bring it up, as much as she may have wanted to. Back in the day, Serenity would have run her theory by Murphy, but now that she had Marx, Murphy seemed to have little time for anyone else. And there was the fact that every time Kaiba's name was brought up she quickly changed the subject, no matter how obvious it was.

"Hey Mai, hey Joey." Serenity smiled as she walked into the apartment. Mai waved and Joey grunted some form of greeting.

He hadn't exactly been excited at the prospect of Serenity working for Seto again, but once he found out how much she was going to get paid, he lightened up a bit.

Without thinking, Serenity walked over to the window and watched the turn Kaiba had taken. For a wild second she thought about walking down the street herself, but she quickly pushed the idea away. It wasn't any of her business really. Besides, how stalkerish would _that_ be?

But the next night Serenity was hardly able to contain her curiosity. Sure it _could _be a secret girlfriend, or maybe it was something else. But what she didn't know, and, as she came to admit to herself, she desperately wanted to find out. Just to stifle the curiosity, of course.

So that night, after she'd been dropped off, instead of going up to the apartment, Serenity waited in the lobby. After about ten minutes, she walked back out again and started making her way down the dead-ended street.

For a few minutes she felt extremely stupid, as there was no sign of Kaiba anywhere. But just as she was about to turn around and try never to think of this night again, she noticed the sleek black Mercedes parked right up ahead. Serenity walked, a little more quickly this time, up the street. Crammed between an appliance store and a leather repair shop, was a small coffee house, not unlike the one she used to work for. And from her spot Serenity could see Seto sitting, alone, at the back corner with a to-go cup on his table and nothing else. For a minute she thought about walking in, but then another thought came into her head. Why? They weren't friends. They didn't even like each other. Why was she doing this at all? And with that Serenity turned around, realizing she had no business down there after all.

* * *

"Yeah? Well at least I'm not man-orexic!" Murphy shouted at Seto one night, long after Mokuba had gone to bed.

"At least I'm not a whore." Seto said, keeping himself calm, as he always did.

"Psh, that's not what your secretary says."

Even Serenity had to stifle a laugh at this one. The two girls were convinced that her boss and his new blonde secretary were sleeping together. It had become more of a running gag between them.

"At least I have an ounce of dignity," The CEO growled back.

"Whatever! At least I don't have AIDS."

It had become pretty obvious to the pair that they couldn't live in the same house and avoid speaking completely. For a few days this had been nice, the two were hesitantly civil towards each other. Serenity thought maybe this was the dawn of a new era, a time of peace in the Kaiba mansion. She was wrong.

"Oh, yes," Kaiba scoffed, "Says the walking STD herself."

"Okay, seriously?" Serenity cried with exasperation, trying to hold Murphy back as she lunged at Kaiba, "I can understand Murphy doing this as she obviously never matured past thirteen, but come on, Kaiba! Really?" Seto scowled and turned back to his laptop.

Serenity had quickly learned that Murphy and Kaiba brought out the worst in each other. Murphy went from inappropriate at times, but otherwise perfectly tolerable, to a vicious insult-hurling bitch, and Kaiba…Well, he just turned into a male version of Murphy.

"He started it." Murphy mumbled, crossing her arms and staring the opposite direction.

"I did not!" Seto growled, "It was you who-"

"For one night, can we _please _watch _Kill the Zombie Lord 5 _in peace? For _one night!_" Serenity cried, slamming her fist on the armrest of her couch.

There were a few seconds of silence before Murphy said, "Yeah, seriously, Kaiba. I mean you're supposed to be Mr. I'm-So-Above-This-I-Have-My-Own-Company and here you are-"

"Walking STD."

"You know what? Fuck you, asshole! _Fuck you!" _

"Murphy!"

"What? Did you hear him? I was just stating the facts!"

"You were instigating." Serenity sighed.

"Well…Maybe. But he was reacting, and that's just as bad!"

"No it's not." Came Seto from behind his computer.

Murphy opened her mouth to retaliate, but Serenity glared at her and she stopped.

"You always take his side." The girl muttered, but luckily that was the end.

The three sat in silence, Murphy and Serenity watching a movie, Seto working, when the doorbell rang. No one bothered to get up (Roland always took care of that), but the entire group did look up from whatever they were doing. No one ever came over past ten.

"Miss. Wheeler," Roland said as he walked in. "It's for you."

Serenity frowned. "Me?"

"Yes," Roland said, walking back out the door, "It's someone who looks about your age. She says her name is Melina Wellsburg."

Serenity felt a chill run down her back. Impossible. Melina was gone. She _had _to be gone. The alternative… Serenity shuddered. "Come with me." Serenity whispered to Murphy, grabbing her arm.

"What's wrong?" Murphy asked, and Serenity was surprised that her face showed genuine concern.

"Nothing! I- please, just come."

Murphy's eyebrows knitted together but she nodded.

Serenity felt her heart thumping in her chest. This couldn't be happening. This wasn't happening. Melina couldn't be here.

But as Serenity walked through the entrance hall, another chill ran down her back, because there she stood. The tall black-haired girl was leaning against the doorway, smiling in a way that showed no warmth and only made Serenity want to run the other direction.

"Serenity!" She cooed, wrapping her arms around her, "It's been _too _long!"

Serenity pulled herself away. "What are you doing here?" She demanded. "You're supposed to be at boarding school."

"Um, it's summer silly! What's wrong?" Melina asked with a pout, "You don't seem excited to see me!"

And she wasn't. Serenity was the exact opposite, actually. She was terrified. Nothing good ever came from Melina's company. She'd learned that the hard way.

Melina was once Serenity's friend, or something close to a friend, at least. But that was a long time ago. Then something terrible happened, something that even now Serenity couldn't bring herself to think of. It had gone as far as to Melina being kicked out of their small private school. It most likely hadn't taken Melina long enough to realize that she'd been setup, not to mention why. There could be only one thing the girl wanted: revenge.

"Look, Melina, you should probably-"

"Oh, hold for a second," Melina's eyes let up, and the grin on her face stretched. "Who's this?"

Serenity turned around. Kaiba was now standing behind her and Murphy, one eyebrow raised. "No one," Serenity said with a shake of her head, "He's just my boss. But look-"

"Serenity!" Melina sighed, "Look, what happened, happened. Who cares? It's the past!"

"No, Melina, this is serious-"

Melina's smile faltered. "I said it was in the past." She growled. "But if you really _want _me to bring it up, I'm sure there are a large number of people who would be interested-"

"No!" Serenity said quickly. Melina smirked. "Look, maybe we should wait until we're with everyone else-"

"They're all gone, left to some private island or another. You're the only one in town right now."

Serenity took a deep breath. She couldn't do this alone. "Then let's wait until-"

"Wait?" Melina laughed, not a trace of humor in the voice, "Ren, I've been _waiting _for this in some hell-hole of a school for the last eight months! Trust me," She said, taking a step towards Serenity, "I've had enough of that."

Serenity quickly took a step back, bumping into Seto as she did so. "Melina-"

"But," She continued with a smirk towards the boy Serenity had just run into, "as you're obviously pretty, uh, _busy _right now, I'm sure one more night won't kill me. Let's meet tomorrow. Three o'clock at the little yogurt place? It'll be just like old times."

Serenity nodded dumbly and watched as Melina walked out of the Kaiba mansion. She closed her eyes, trying to get herself to calm down, but it wasn't working.

"I'll drive you home." Seto said shortly, and Serenity nodded.

"Serenity-" Murphy started, but Serenity shook her head.

"I don't want to talk about it. I just want to go home." And though she knew it would bring no relief, Serenity did just that.

**A/N Ugh. Short chapter, I'm sorry, but I promise the next one will be longer. Just a warning, the next few chapters are going to be pretty dramatic, sorry in advance for that, lol. Anyway, thank you to those who reviewed last chapter! It means so much to me! I'm playing the birthday card here, it's tomorrow and a review would be a great present! I know, I'm pathetic, lol. Regardless, thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed! **


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and OCs. **

Serenity had completely skipped out on work that day. She hadn't even had the heart to call in sick. Instead she'd just sent her boss a text message saying she couldn't come in that day. Really the girl wouldn't be surprised if she were fired for a second time. She hardly cared though, at least not at that moment. So Kaiba might fire her a second time. She could handle that.

Serenity took a deep breath. She didn't want to go anywhere near that psycho of a girl. Yet, she didn't want anything that Melina would be able to bring up about her past to come back to bite her either. Knowing what she had to do, Serenity pulled open the door and walked into the yogurt place. Instantly, she was reminded of all the afternoons she'd spent there with Bex and Stacey, pretending to do homework or study, but of course only spending the whole time gossiping. Not, Serenity realized, that she particularly missed those days. But it was nice when things were so simple. It didn't take long for Serenity to spot the girl she was meeting. Melina was sitting alone in a corner booth across the room, a glass of water sitting in front of her.

"Serenity! I've been waiting for you!" Melina beamed as Serenity sat down across from her. But, as usual, her eyes were narrowed dangerously, daring Serenity to take one wrong step.

"Hey." Serenity said, shifting slightly in her seat. "Look," the girl continued before Melina could say anything else, "I'm sorry about what happened last year, but I'm out of that whole group really. So, I-"

"It doesn't matter what you are now, Ren. You were there when it happened, just like the rest of us." The fake smile was gone. "I doubt your brother would like to hear about what his baby sister's responsible for-"

"Do you feel guilty at all?" Serenity knew she should have kept it to herself, but she didn't. How was it that Melina could flaunt it, use it to her advantage even, while Serenity felt nauseous even thinking about what happened.

"Why should I?" Melina sneered, "I was the one who got the most backlash from it! Or do you not remember getting me kicked out of school? Please. Like I didn't put two and two together."

Serenity had known Melina would figure that out easily. It wasn't rocket science.

"Look, I'm sorry-"

"Yeah, sorry I came back!" Melina sneered. "Did you guys really think that would be the end? Plant some weed in my locker, get me shipped off, and everything would be bright and happy?"

"Melina-"

"Well guess what princess, that's not how things work. Not with me."

"Why are you targeting me? It wasn't even my idea-"

"God! Would you stop acting so damn _innocent_?Your whole deer in headlights act is really starting to piss me off." Melina said with an eye roll, taking a sip of the water in front of her.

"And you think you're any better? Do you really think framing Bex would have helped anything?" Serenity demanded.

Melina was quiet for a moment. "Who says it would have been framing her? She was the last one to talk to him. You saw her walk out there just like I did. Do you know what she said to the guy?"

"I-" Serenity stopped and frowned. "Wait…Do you?"

"Do I need to? You know how Bex is. She'll do anything to protect her reputation. She was hammered, maybe she let something slip to Marcus that-"

"That's ridiculous! She would have never done that. You know that as well as I do."

"Do I?"

The two girls sat in silence for a little while longer. "Do you really think I don't feel guilty about what happened?" Melina asked in a quiet voice after a few minutes. "You guys had distractions. After you got rid of me you could carry off as normal, pretend nothing happened. Waking up at that school everyday…it was a constant reminder. I could never escape."

Serenity stared at Melina. For months now she'd pictured her as the bad guy. Everyone had. Seeing any kind of emotion out of her besides anger or spite was almost unnerving. Did the girl actually feel some sort of remorse?

"It wasn't like that for us. We couldn't just move one, not really, and especially not at first. There were all sorts of things the city organized. Fundraisers and search parties, things like that. Since we were his friends we were all expected to be there of course. It was so hard going to those things and knowing it was our fault. Especially when we had to pretend like it wasn't." Melina didn't say anything. What was there to say to each other, really?

"You know, I'd had this whole little scheme planned out when I got back. I wanted to ruin you. To make all your lives hell, but I- I think they already are. How can they not be? I can barely stand it with just Marcus on my conscious. You have me on there too." Without another word, Melina stood up. The two girls stared at each other. What now? They still weren't friends, and they would never want to be, but they weren't exactly enemies either. Serenity wanted to say something to her. She wanted to apologize for what she'd done to her, to admit that she, just like the rest of the group, just as Melina herself, had just been scared. And maybe Melina would have apologized for making the memory so clear in Serenity's mind, for bringing up something that the girl had obviously tried so hard to push down. But neither did. Instead, Melina left the restaurant, leaving Serenity alone.

Maybe her conversation with Melina should have given her some sort of closure, but it didn't. Serenity found herself ten minutes later not having moved an inch from her spot. Her stomach was churning and her head pounded. She felt as sick as if Melina had tried to blackmail her as Serenity was expecting she would.

Finally, Serenity stood up. Luckily, Joey's apartment was only a few blocks away.

Serenity felt mildly dizzy the whole way home. Her head was spinning with everything Melina had said. The disconsolate expression on her face as she'd left Serenity alone. She was an awful person. What she'd done to Melina was terrible. What she'd done to Marcus was worse. Unforgivable.

As soon as she'd walked into the apartment, Serenity went straight to the medicine cabinet. She pulled out the bottle of sleeping pills and swallowed four dry, not caring at how ridiculously unnecessary it was for her to take that many.

Serenity crawled into the twin-sized bed in her room, and closed her eyes. She didn't want to think about what happened last year. She didn't want to think about what happened last hour. All she wanted was for the pills to take effect, and to sleep.

* * *

Serenity woke up not but a few hours later. Her head still hurt, but the sleep seemed to have numbed it at least a little. Serenity walked into the kitchen, intent on finding Joey. Though she would never, could never, tell him what happened, she knew his pressance alone would comfort her as it always did. But neither him nor Mai were anywhere to be found. Serenity felt her heart sink. She didn't want to be alone. She wanted to be with someone, anyone really.

She glanced at the clock on the wall. Eleven. She'd slept all through the afternoon. She wished Joey would come home. All she wanted was for someone- anyone- so she wouldn't be- Serenity froze. Her eyes wondered towards the kitchen window. Eleven, just a short time after Kaiba would have dropped her off. _Anyone, _anyone?

Serenity, not even bothering to grab her wallet, started heading towards the apartment door. She didn't even know if he would be there, but she didn't care.

Serenity flew down the steps of her building. This was crazy. Stupid even, but she didn't care. Serenity didn't care what Kaiba would say when she got there, if he even _was _at the coffee shop she'd seen him sitting in the other night. She'd tell him everything. Why? Why _not_? He already hated her. And Kaiba wasn't exactly a saint. Who would he be to judge her?

The brunette was mildly aware that she wasn't thinking quiet as straight as usual. And she felt a bit light headed, but that was probably just because she hadn't eaten anything that day. Were sleeping pills and no food an okay combination? Too late.

"Excuse me, miss, but do you know how dangerous it is out here this time of night?" Serenity stopped in her tracks. She'd _just _walked out her door and she was already getting in trouble. She spun around, and there he was. The same cop that always seemed to be around exactly when she didn't need him.

"I remember you!" She laughed. "I _know _you! You're that one cop. You know what's funny? You always seem to show up at significant moments of this year. At Lars's house, way back in the day, God that seems like forever ago, oh oh! And with that one guy I almost started dating! That was a flop. What was his name? It started with an S…Whatever. I haven't talked to him in like three months." Serenity frowned. What ever happened to that kid? Samuel. Right. Maybe she'd look him up later.

"I-" The young cop stared at her. "Actually, I do remember you. Now that you mention it."

"Yeah…Yeah, you know what?" Serenity grinned. She did feel awfully funny.

"Um, what?" The cop looked thoroughly uncomfortable now.

"Okay, so get this, if you wouldn't have busted that party all those months ago, I probably wouldn't be here right now! No, really, I'd still be living with my aunt and uncle, I wouldn't be working at Kaiba Corp., and, oh my God, I'd actually have friends." Serenity stared at the cop in wonderment. "You, Mr. Cop, you changed my life."

The cop stared at her. "Are you drunk?" He demanded.

"Umm, no. But now that you mention it-"

"Ma'am, I think I may need to-"

"Oh, crap! I'm supposed to be somewhere! Well, not really. But I want to be somewhere. I'm leaving now. It was nice to see you again, Mr."

Ignoring the cop's calls, Serenity continued down the street. A silver BMW sat on the corner, a car Serenity recognized to be one of the many that Seto owned. Without hesitation, Serenity walked further down the street, and when she got there, pushed through the doors of the coffee house.

"Kaiba. Good. I need you to listen to my problems."

Serenity sat down across from the CEO. He was at the same table in the back of the room, a to-go cup in front of him. He was staring blankly at her, his mouth slightly agape.

"How did you know I would be here?" He demanded.

Serenity sighed impatiently. "I followed you here one night, but that's not what I'm here to talk about, okay. This is important-"

"You _followed _me-"

"Yes, yes, creepy, I know, now can we stay on subject please?"

"I-" For the first time ever Kaiba seemed speechless. "You're high." He finally managed to say.

Serenity frowned. "No I'm not."

"You took pills today?" The CEO demanded.

"Well, yeah. But they were just sleeping-"

"What were they called?"

"Uh…Tramadol HCL?"

"You- you _idiot! _Those aren't-" Kaiba slumped down in his seat and ran his hand through his hair. "How many did you take?" He growled.

Serenity frowned. This wasn't what they were supposed to be talking about. "I don't know, like four. Who cares? Now would you listen to me? You're the only person who hates me enough for me to be able to tell this to."

"No, God Wheeler! Have you had anything to eat today?"

"No."

"Damn it." Seto muttered. He stared at Serenity as of she'd just told him she'd forgotten how to spell her name or something ridiculous like that.

"…Now that you mention it I do feel kind of off beat." Serenity shook her head. "I don't care. I care about _this. _I killed someone."

Seto, who had just taken a large drink of coffee, started coughing hysterically into his napkin. "Well, not me directly, but still…"

"Why are you telling me this?" Seto asked, staring at Serenity, his blue eyes wider than usual.

"_Because. _It wasn't…nice. And you're not nice. So I thought if anybody could relate it would be you."

"No. I refuse to listen to this. You have a brother-"

"No!" Serenity wrapped the grey zip-up she was wearing tighter around her body. "I can't tell him." She said quietly. Serenity felt her mood plummeting. "He'd hate me if he knew."

Seto continued to stare at Serenity. "Does this have anything to do with why you failed to show up to work today?" He asked, keeping his tone level.

"Maybe." Serenity shifted. "Yes." She admitted ruefully.

The boy seemed to be thinking the situation over. He obviously didn't want to get involved. "What happened?" He finally asked quietly.

"It happened last fall, we we're all at one of the apartments the Vawrds keep. The one downtown close to the docks." Serenity started. She quickly shifted her eyes to the table in front of her. She couldn't talk about this and look Seto in the eye. "It was me, Bex, Stacey, Lars, Leo, Melina, and- and Marcus."

Serenity glanced up to see Seto had closed his eyes and was rubbing his temples. "You knew him." She whispered, feeling her heart sink, and her head slowly start to pound again.

Seto nodded once. Serenity should have known. Marcus was in that same little niche of people that all seemed to know each other. Melina, like Serenity, had been an outsider, and like Serenity, hadn't lasted long. Marcus wasn't, however. He had been born into the group like the rest of them.

"We were all drunk, especially him," Serenity went on, "He was getting really obnoxious. And we were all getting really annoyed…"

"I don't want to hear this." Seto stood up, almost knocking down the table as he did so.

"Please, don't!" Serenity stood up. "Don't leave, please."

Seto paused. His briefcase was in one hand and his coffee in the other, he had already stepped around the table, but, surprisingly, he stopped and sat back down.

"Anyway, like I said, he was getting on all of our last nerves. He was, well, he was always kind of a pervert."

"I remember." Seto muttered darkly.

"Yeah, well, it was five times worse when he was drunk. We'd had enough after he tried to feel up Stacey. Again. So Leo decided just to lock him out of the apartment all together." Again, Serenity looked up at Seto to find that he too was staring determinedly at the table in front of him. "As you can imagine, it really pissed him off. He went outside and started launching rocks at the window, so Bex went out with him to try and cool him off. They talked for a while and he stormed off. Bex said she tried to call him, but he wouldn't pick up his phone." Serenity bit her lip. This was the first time she was telling this story, and to Kaiba no less. But Serenity didn't care. She had to tell someone. He just happened to be the closest one.

"And you never saw him again." Seto finished, not looking up. Serenity didn't answer. "Why did that girl come back? What did she have on you that wouldn't get her in just as much trouble?" He asked.

"Well, we were all in a panic afterwards. We weren't too worried when he wouldn't pick up his phone Sunday, but then he wasn't at school Monday. Or Tuesday…" Serenity paused. Now she could feel the tears start to come. She quickly wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her jacket. She hated crying. "Sorry." She muttered. She waited until she knew her eyes would remain dry before continuing, "We didn't know what to do. We were scared, so we kept it to ourselves, but obviously that wasn't turning out well. It was all anybody at school, our parents, even the news, was talking about. No one could find him. Melina- this is where she really comes in. She and Bex had a big fight. She wouldn't tell Melina what he'd said when they'd talked. No one wanted to talk about, though, so we really weren't surprised. But Melina wanted the whole thing over with. She- she wanted to blame it all on Bex. She told us it made sense. Bex was the last one to talk to him. Whatever she'd said was what made him take off. She wanted us all to go to the police, to tell them that she'd been the only one with him that night."

"That's ridiculous!" Kaiba snarled. "Besides, it wouldn't have worked in the slightest, she-"

"I know." Serenity interrupted. "Melina was scared. We all were. And when Bex found out, Stacey wouldn't have kept that from her, she was pissed. Beyond pissed. So she and Lars got her kicked out. They planted weed in her locker and told Mr. Burns they'd seen her lighting up in the bathroom. They found the stuff in her locker, did a drug test, and it was Melina, so it was definitely positive, and that was that. Her parents sent her to boarding school."

Seto sat back, and for the first time his eyes rose to met Serenity's. "You shouldn't have told me any of this. What I should do is-"

"Please, no, Kaiba-"

"But I'm not. You, however, need to."

There was a pause. "I can't." Serenity said softly. "I just- I-"

"Wheeler, you don't understand." Seto growled, standing up. "If you don't tell the police, I will."

"What? No!" This wasn't how this was supposed to work. "You can't do that! You- you-"

"Can and I will." He said sternly, "Unless you do it first."

Serenity stared at Seto. She hadn't thought he would care. She didn't think he'd even really listen. He was supposed to think he was above any of this. "I really don't know you, do I?"

There was a long pause in which Seto didn't answer. Then, his face emotionless, he stood up and started walking out of the building.

"Wait!" Serenity stood up and stumbled over towards him. Her head was still slightly fuzzy from the not-sleeping pills she'd taken.

"One week, Wheeler. You tell them or I will." Without another word, Seto turned on his heel and strode out the door. Serenity sunk back in her chair and buried her head in her hands. What had she been thinking?

**A/N There we go! Thanks for reading! I hope you guys didn't find Serenity's story _too _cheesy. :P Thank you to those who reviewed last chapter! Hope you enjoyed and hope you have time to leave a review! **

**~Average Prevailer~ **


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh. That hasn't changed since the last chapter. **

**Thanks to all who reviewed or put this on favorites/alerts! It means so, so much to me!**

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"Something is wrong with you. I can tell." Mai sat down on the couch beside Serenity, clicking the TV off.

"I'm fine. Really." Serenity pulled the navy blanket on top of her over her shoulders, keeping her eyes away from the blonde. She felt bad for brushing off Mai, who had always been more than kind to her, but she really didn't feel like talking. Not to mention lying to her. Serenity definitely wasn't fine. She was a wreck. She could hardly force herself out of bed in the mornings, that she'd made it to the couch was practically a miracle. She couldn't process the thought of leaving the flat. Guilt and nausea were constantly gnawing at her stomach, any more stimulation she was pretty sure would make her sick.

Mai opened her mouth, but then closed it. She was frowning slightly, and when Serenity saw her shift nervously to the side, Serenity knew something was wrong. After a few more minutes of nervous side-glances and false starts, Serenity finally asked, "What is it?" Mai didn't answerer immediately, and Serenity felt herself growing nervous, "It's not something with Joey is it?"

"No, no," Mai smiled, "Joey and I are fine. It's- Well," Mai sighed and bit her lip.

"What?" Serenity frowned. Had she done something wrong?

"Kaiba called."

Serenity felt her stomach plunge down. "He what?"

"He- you know what? It doesn't matter what he said. Kaiba can go fix his computer. We're worried about you Serenity, Joey and me. You haven't been acting like yourself lately."

"No, I want to hear what Kaiba told you." Serenity said, sitting up as her heart started to pound faster in her chest.

"He said he want either you or your resignation form at work tomorrow." She replied quietly.

There was a heavy silence before Serenity said, "Well it was good you answered the phone instead of Joey."

Mai laughed. "True. Very true." Serenity reached back down to grab the remote, but Mai stopped her.

"Any reason you've been skipping?" Mai asked seriously. Serenity turned away. "Listen," She said slowly, "I know Kaiba, he's _difficult, _but he's never- if he's ever- are you two-"

"No!" Serenity said quickly, "God, no! Nothing has ever gone on between us, I promise. We just- we-" Serenity faltered. There was no way to really describe what had happened.

"So this does involve Kaiba?"

Again, Serenity faltered. "I- I don't- yeah, kind of. But it's really nothing to worry about."

"Okay then," Mai said slowly, "Is there any reason he also suggested we put a lock on the medicine cabinet?"

Serenity groaned and dropped her head to the side of the couch. "No." She replied.

"No?"

"It's, um, an inside joke."

Mai raised an eyebrow. "An inside joke…with Kaiba?"

"Er, yes?"

"Right. Okay, now I know something's wrong. Are you going to tell me what it is?"

Serenity wished she could, but she couldn't imagine dragging Mai into this. She had enough on her plate with Joey. She didn't need Serenity to worry about too.

"You don't have to," Mai sighed, "But just know, this isn't easy for Joey either. He's worried about you, and you know he would take any excuse to pick a fight with Kaiba."

"I know, but it's not his fault." Serenity replied. "I wish it was. It'd be nice to blame him."

Mai left Serenity on the couch, not before triple checking that she would be okay with her and Joey going out to dinner, and Serenity could feel her stomach start to churn once more. She was ready for this to be over. Serenity didn't want to think about the event anymore, and there was only one way to stop it. To push it back down again…

Finally, fingers trembling slightly, Serenity reached over towards the table and grabbed her phone. She couldn't do this, but she couldn't let Joey or Mai have to worry about her anymore either. It was obvious from her conversation with the blonde that they were spending too much of their time on her.

"I'll do this," She said into the receiver, "But I'm not going alone."

There was a long pause before Kaiba replied shortly, "Fine. I'll be there in five."

* * *

True to his word, about five minutes later one of the many Kaiba cars pulled over to where Serenity was standing. It wasn't quiet dark yet, but the street was quiet nonetheless. If it had been under any other circumstance Serenity would have walked to where he usually dropped her off by her old workplace, but Serenity couldn't be bothered to move this time. She no longer cared if he knew where she lived or not. She'd just stood outside, staring hopelessly at the road before her, as if waiting for something to happen.

Kaiba said nothing as she slid into the passenger seat of his car. He stared determinedly ahead his eyes not once flicking towards Serenity. This only made Serenity wonder more about his odd interest in her story. Of course, anybody would be really. A boy had disappeared, and Kaiba had known him, but still. He hardly took notice of anything else involving that group, and Serenity highly doubted he was ever truly close to Marcus.

The two sat in silence the whole way to the police station, and even when they pulled up, Seto said nothing. Serenity wrapped her fingers around the door handle, but before she could exit the car, a figure made her stop. A tall girl with bright blue eyes and black hair that fell in perfect waves down her back was descending down the steps. Melina.

Serenity turned her head to Seto who was also staring at the girl. His eyes shifted to her and he opened his mouth to say something, but then he shut it and abruptly turned away.

Hesitantly, Serenity pushed open the door of the car. Melina stopped, turning her gaze to Serenity. She lifted an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"I- I was just- He told me to come." Serenity stammered.

Melina nodded once. She paused then said, "You don't have to worry about it, about anything. You're safe." And then she walked off in the opposite direction, never once looking back.

Serenity stood still for a moment, watching her walk off. Then, the confusion still throbbing her, Serenity turned back to Kaiba. Slowly, she got back into the car.

They drove back at Serenity's house, as usual, in silence. However, when they got there, Kaiba did something he'd never gone before. He got out of the car.

"What are you doing?" Serenity asked with a frown.

"Going to your apartment." Seto replied flatly.

Serenity's frown deepened. "_Why_?"

Seto ignored her and started towards the door. If it would be anybody to add to the confusion of this night, Serenity thought with a scowl, it would be Kaiba. She walked quickly behind him, bursting with questions to ask, but neither brunette spoke. Seto stepped aside when they reached Serenity's floor, allowing her to unlock it.

And suddenly, Serenity felt a wave of self-consciousness come about her. Their apartment was nothing that could even hope to compare to the Kaiba mansion, or the flat he had bought himself. Not to mention how alone they were. Bad things tended to happen when Serenity and Seto were alone.

The girl watched as Seto brushed past her, turning into the kitchen. Serenity frowned. Was he hungry or something? Actually, now that she thought about it, she'd never actually seen the CEO eat.

But Seto stopped before he reached the refrigerator or any cabinets. He pulled open a drawer and took out a role of masking tape. Serenity felt her eyes widen, she took a step back and grabbed her cell phone off the table, just in case.

Kaiba turned to her, and was about to speak, but seeing the look on her face rolled his eyes. "I just need a pen."

"Oh… sure." Serenity grabbed one from the table and tossed it to him. Catching it perfectly at his hand, Seto turned back around. He surveyed the room before opening a cabinet under the sink. Serenity raised an eyebrow. Did privacy mean nothing to him?

"If you tell me what you're looking for I can probably-" But Seto was already pulling something out from the cabinet under the sink, and with a groan Serenity realized what it was.

"Can't you just let that go?" Serenity whined as Seto put the white basket of the pills on the kitchen counter.

Seto snipped a piece of tape off the roll and stuck it on the one of the pill bottles. He grabbed the pen and, in perfectly neat block writing wrote, "Sleep".

"You have got to be kidding me." Serenity growled. "I can read the bottle, thanks." Seto ignored her and kept going. So she screwed up once. She hadn't been thinking straight then!

Serenity rolled her eyes and hopped on the counter, watching him. Occasionally, he would crinkle his brow slightly and toss a bottle in the trashcan below. "Do you ever read expiration dates?" He growled.

Serenity didn't answer. "How did you know Marcus?" She asked instead.

Seto didn't reply at first. "I didn't. Not very well."

"But you did know him?" Serenity pressed.

"If you're looking for some sort of closure you'll need to go elsewhere." Responded Seto coldly.

"Then what was your connection? I think I know you a little more than to fall for the Good Samaritan act."

"I thought you didn't know me at all."

"Well, yeah, I don't." Serenity admitted, "but-"

"Then don' t pretend to." Seto cut in sharply.

It was obvious there was something he was avoiding talking about. Something he didn't want her to know. And Serenity wanted to know what it was, but she also wanted to keep her life, so she didn't press the matter.

"Should I tell anyone?" She asked after a minute, "Stacey or-"

"No." Seto answered. "That girl, she told you that you were safe, so stay out of it."

"You heard that?"

Seto nodded once. After a few minutes, he stopped, the role of tape almost gone and the pen almost out of ink.

"Thanks, I guess." Serenity said, eyeing his handy-work.

"Hn."

"And thanks for driving me."

"Hn."

"And thanks for-"

But before she could continue, the door to the apartment swung open.

"An so I told da guy he betta back off or- Kaiba!"

Serenity groaned. Because what wasn't missing from this night?

"Wheeler." Seto said simply. He turned to Serenity and said, "Tomorrow morning, Kaiba Corp." He walked out of the kitchen, heading towards the door, but Joey would have none of it.

"What are you doing here, money-bags?" Joey demanded, taking a step forwards. Mai rolled her eyes, grabbed a magazine and flopped down the couch. "Hey Kaiba."

Seto nodded to her. "Valentine."

"Don't talk to my girlfriend!" Joey growled. "Or my sister!"

"Joey," Serenity sighed, "He wasn't doing anything wrong."

"The fact dat he's here at all is wrong! And what were you two going anyways?" Joey asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

"Calm down Joey," Mai drawled from her spot, "It was probably just something to do with work. Let the man go home already."

"I advise you to step out of the way, mutt." Kaiba growled. "I need to get out of her before I contract diseases from your pathetic excuse of a-" But before he could finish, Joey was lunging at Kaiba, only being restrained by Mai jumping up and pulling him back. Kaiba, however, for some reason seemed just as anxious for a fight, and Serenity ended up having to use all of her might to pull him off.

"What are you doing?" Serenity demanded. "_You're _supposed to be the mature one!" She hissed.

Kaiba seemed ready to retort, but then he stopped, looked over to where Mai was standing, trying to calm Joey down, and then back to Serenity. "You're right." He said flatly, then ran his fingers through his chestnut hair, a small frown on his face.

"I- wow. Okay, cool." Serenity paused. Seto looked as if he was trying to calm himself down, to regain his perfectly cool composure. "I'm sorry I was skipping out on you." Serenity said quietly after a moment.

Seto glanced down at her. "I take that offense very seriously," He said, "And if it starts happening again-"

"I understand." She said.

Seto paused. "I suppose I apologize for making you confront events from your past, even if you did willingly thrust them towards me in the first place. And for harassing your brother, though I believed he deserved it."

Serenity smiled a bit. "I guess I did. I really didn't think about it like that." She paused again. "Sorry for willing thrusting events from my past into your life."

The corners of Seto's mouth lifted slightly. "As long as you don't start following me again, I think we should be fine."

Serenity gaped at him. "I- that was one time!"

Seto out a small, low, laugh. "I'll see you tomorrow, Wheeler." He brushed passed her, walked out the door, leaving all residents of the house staring in confusion after him.

That night Serenity realized for the first time how easily the Kaiba Corp. president could make her emotions sway. One minute she was petrified with fear and guilt, the next he had her angry, and then she was smiling. She had to wonder if he had these affects on everybody, or just her.

"What was that about?" Mai asked after Joey had grumbled off to bed.

"Just work stuff, like you said." Serenity replied. She walked over to the refrigerator and pulled it open. She hadn't actually had anything to eat since this morning.

"Well, you seem better." Mai said, leaning against the counter. "All it took was a late night visit from a CEO while we were supposed to be away to make things all right."

"Mai-"

"You told me there was nothing going on between you and Kaiba." The hurt in her voice matched her eyes. It was obvious she only told Joey Kaiba was here for work to get him to settle down.

"There is nothing going on between us! Mai, I would tell you if there was something-"

"Would you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "Because I don't remember Kaiba ever making business house calls."

"Well, yeah, okay-"

"Look, Serenity," Mai sighed, "I know about people disapproving of relationships. I was always supposed to go off with someone like Kaiba or that boy Leo you used to hang out with. That was my parent's circle and I wasn't supposed to leave it. I may have disappointed them with my choices, but I never lied to my parents about them."

Serenity started to reply, but stopped. She _was _lying to Mai. Just not how the blonde thought.

"Now are you going to tell me what's going on, or am I just going to have to start not trusting you completely."

Serenity's eyes met Mai's. She wished, as she had so many times in the past, that she could tell her what happened, but Serenity found herself shaking her head. "I'm sorry." She said quietly. Mai took a deep breath, exhaled, and then nodded once. She turned out of the kitchen and walked to the back of the apartment with Joey. Abandoning her attempts at dinner, Serenity instead retreated to her own room. She lied to her brother, lost Mai's trust, made deals with Kaiba, the one person she'd always been warned would try to shoot her down, but for now, Serenity could hardly have regrets. Because, for now, that matter was finally over. She could finally start having peace.

**A/M Yes, because life is always so peaceful with the Kaiba brothers, lol. Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed, and please review! **


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. **

"So I was thinking," Murphy started as she flipped the channels of the Kaiba's TV, "and I think we should have, like, a huge party this weekend."

Serenity glanced up from the magazine she was reading and scowled. "No, no way." Seto and Mokuba were leaving that Thursday for a business trip in New York and wouldn't be back until Tuesday. Serenity had been appointed to housesit, which was definitely code for Murphy-sit. Besides, Serenity had experienced Murphy's parties. They weren't fun. "Come on, Murph, I thought you were past all that. We can find a way have fun some other way."

"Nobody outgrows parties, and anyone who says they have is a dirty liar and should be punished accordingly. And anyways, I was thinking something more on the lines of on office party." Murphy replied. Abandoning the television ("Dumb bastard has all the good channels child-blocked."), the brunette instead started rummaging through her boss's stuff, something she never seemed to grow tired of.

"Two things for that. First of all, whom on earth would we invite to an office party, and second, even if we did magically come up with a guest list, how could we possibly make an office party "huge"? Don't those things usually involve people standing awkwardly around a water cooler, holding paper cups and discussing TPS reports?" Serenity asked.

Murphy shrugged. "We'd invite the our S's, the interns, maybe. I've heard this weeks are pretty cool," Interns hardly ever last more than a month at Kaiba Corp., "we wouldn't invite John because he'd kill us for having people over at Kaiba's when he wasn't home-"

"You know who else would kill us for having people over at Kaiba's while he wasn't home?"

"Me," Replied a low voice.

Serenity jumped and turned around, seeing Seto at the doorway, glaring down at her. Murphy quickly scooted away from the cabinet she'd been rooting about in.

"Um, yes, actually. That's exactly who I was going to say."

Murphy frowned. "Me and in you or me as in the guy who just walked in."

"Me as in the one who would be more likely to want to hang you after he found out you'd been sneaking people into his home… and going through his things. Again."

Murphy's frown deepened. "Jason from the IRS?" Nobody answered. Serenity had learned sometimes it was better to just not react. "Regardless, I've discovered your secret Kaiba." Murphy told him.

"Oh really?" The CEO asked flatly, sitting down in favorite leather armchair and already acting completely bored with the entire conversation.

"Yep, and it only took me," Murphy paused, "six years." She waited for Seto to comment, and when he didn't, continued, "You're a ninja."

"I thought you said I was a robot," Seto said, his voice completely unemotional.

"Oh, you are. It just turns out you're a ninja robot."

"Wonderful."

"Well, it wasn't an insult." Murphy said, "I mean, you're a robot because… we've already covered that, we don't need to go over it again," Seto rolled his eyes at this, "and you're a ninja because of the way you always sneak up on us. Did you take a class on it in high school?"

"Yes."

"Really?" Murphy asked, perking up a bit.

"No."

Silence then fell over the group, and Serenity felt herself start to feel uncomfortable. Once silence was a beautiful, golden thing to come across in the Kaiba mansion, but now it was heavy and awkward, and Serenity found herself almost wishing Murphy and Kaiba would start fighting again, if just for the noise.

It wasn't the unshared words the bothered her, but rather the ones that had already been said. Because when Seto wasn't firing off insults, or Mokuba (who had already passed out on the couch during the third showing of _Pirates on Ice_) wasn't chattering on about his day, or even Murphy saying random things that no one really seemed to understand but herself, the silence seemed to scream the words of conversations past.

At first, Serenity found Kaiba knowing about her past a relief. She had no more big secrets, really, nothing to hide. However, Serenity found that now that she was without her secret, she felt as though she had nothing to hide behind, that she was exposed and vulnerable. Every minute of silence that passed, Serenity grew more and more anxious. But why this caused the anxiety, the feelings of vulnerability and exposure, she couldn't say.

"Hey Kaiba," Murphy started, and Serenity felt a bit of relief, "I have a que-"

"No."

Murphy scowled. "How do you know wh-"

"No, you may not have people over while I'm gone."

Murphy opened her mouth, but then merely scowled and slumped down in her seat. Just then the cell phone beside the girl started ringing. Murphy glanced at the screen and frowned. Her eyes then widened, she yet out a yelp, and tossed the phone to Seto.

Seto frowned at the phone, still buzzing in his palm, and when his eyes focused on the screen they widened slightly, and he quickly tossed it back to Murphy.

"No way!" Murphy threw it back, recoiling from the phone as she did so. The two's game of phone hot potato continued until finally Murphy tossed the phone onto Serenity's lap. Serenity raised an eyebrow and answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Give the phone to Alena."

Serenity frowned. "To who?" At this Murphy rolled her eyes.

"Al-" The girl on the other end of the phone let out an impatient sigh. "_Murphy._"

"Oh- um, you want to talk to Murphy?" Serenity looked over to see Murphy rapidly shaking her head. She turned to Seto, who gave one, quick, shake of his head also.

"Uh, she can't come to the phone right now." Serenity lied, leaning back on the couch.

"Oh really? I bet. Give the phone to her."

"Look, she can't talk." Serenity insisted. She had no idea who this girl was, but she had a serious attitude problem.

"Did you not hear me? Give. The. Phone. To. Alena. God, do you think I'm stupid. I know she's probably right beside you."

"Okay, who _is_ this?" Serenity growled.

The girl on the other end let out a humorless laugh. "I'm her sister."

"Why didn't you tell me you have a sister?" Serenity asked. She'd always thought of Murphy as an only child. She had never mentioned a sister, or any family at all, really.

"I've got two actually," Murphy admitted. "An older and a younger one," The girl paused then added, "And two brothers."

"What? No Way! What are their names?"

"Uh, well, the twins are young, only, like, eight, they're Ezra and Ophelia. Then there's Benjy. He's the oldest, twenty-four. And the one you just talked to would be-"

"Lila." Seto growled from his chair.

"Can you believe it? He may actually hate her more than he hates me." Murphy grinned.

"Not quite. I have twice the respect for Lila that I have for you."

Murphy shrugged her shoulders. "Still isn't saying much is it? Anyway, she's a year older than Seto and I. Oh, and she's the anti-Christ." Serenity expected to roll his eyes at this, but he didn't. "You don't think she's in town, do you?" Murphy asked the CEO anxiously.

Seto paused. "I don't think so," He said slowly, "but we can't be sure."

"Is your name not Murphy?" Serenity asked suddenly. That part of the conversation had just registered with the girl.

"It's my middle name." Murphy told her, "But people forget that. _I _forget that. Nobody calls me by my first name except for my parents. And Lila."

Seto frowned. "I thought it was your last name."

"It's my dad's last name, but only the boys in the family actually have it as their last name. The girl's have my mother's because my mother is a control freak and nothing can be normal with her."

"Wait, so then do your sisters have Murphy as their middle name?" Serenity asked.

"No. I'm the lucky one with a boy's name." She sighed, but then turned back to Seto. "I'm not going home."

"I know." Seto replied. "But if they want you to and you refuse, your parents aren't going to want me handing your wellbeing anymore. I wouldn't be able to house or employ you anymore."

Murphy didn't reply at first. "I know." She said finally. Serenity would have thought this would make Murphy happy, but she seemed almost nervous at the thought.

"They'll most likely freeze your trust fund. In fact, I'd be surprised if they didn't." Seto warned. Murphy flinched at this.

"Oh shit. You're probably right. No, you're definitely right. Fuck. I've never had a real job. God, I hardly even ever went to a real school."

"Well… That's not completely true. You went to boarding school for a few years."

Murphy laughed. "I don't even _remember _boarding school. Any of the ones I went to, actually. I can't even remember how many I got kicked out of." She mused.

"Did you ever go to a normal school?" Serenity asked.

"Yeah. For three months. I got expelled when they realized I'd never actually had a sober day there. That's when my parents gave up and got me a private tutor. He was like twenty and was a total joke."

"How so?"

"Well, I slept with him for one." Murphy replied.

Seto rolled his eyes. Serenity stared.

"Kidding, kidding. My mom came in before it went that far. But the point is- ugh. I don't even want to think about it."

"Even they don't freeze it, you'll run out of money eventually, Murphy." Seto said, using his serious, business tone Serenity always heard him use when he spoke to his associates, never to either of the girls sitting in the room.

"Don't lecture me on that right now. We've covered this before. If that ever is a problem I'll deal with it then. What I'm worried about is having no money _now_." Murphy sighed.

Seto took a breath. "We'll wait a few days and see what happens. We're not even sure that they're wanting you home yet. If that does happen to be the case you and I will discuss options," Seto's eyes flicked over to Serenity, "Privately."

Murphy shrugged. "Whatever. Maybe a house will fall on her before she gets here." There were a few minutes a silence before Murphy sat up and asked, "So now that I have your attention, can we have people over this weekend?"

The CEO glared at her. "No."

* * *

"I swear to God, he will never find out." Murphy pleaded on the Friday night. "He won't be back until _Monday. _Let's have it tomorrow and then we'll have tons of time to clean up and he'll never know. "

Serenity had actually believed Murphy had dropped the whole thing. She hadn't mentioned having people over the rest of the week or even the night before, but now it was all she could talk about.

"You've said Kaiba wouldn't find out many things we've done. And you know how many of them he's found out about?"

"Umm-"

"All of them. All of them, Murphy."

"Oh." There were a few seconds of silence, "Do you want to meet some of my friends?"

Serenity glanced at Murphy wearily. "Are you going to be offended if I say no?"

"N- yes. Yes, I am."

Serenity sighed and didn't reply.

"You know, I could so set you up with one of my guy friends."

"No thanks." Serenity replied quickly. If that didn't sound like a disaster Serenity didn't know what did.

Lugnut, the puppy Seto had reluctantly agreed to take from Serenity, whined from the corner of the room. "See," Murphy said, pointing a finger at the dog, "even he knows you should go."

Serenity opened her mouth to object (again), but then an idea popped into her mind. "We could go, but it alright if I invite a friend?"

Serenity had barely talked to Mai at all. It wasn't as if Serenity hadn't done anything at all to patch things between them. She had tried inviting Mai to go have lunch, or even just a drink with her, but the blonde always had some sort of excuse up her sleeve. And Serenity really did miss Mai. She'd never fully realized how great it was having someone like a big sister to turn to.

The scary part was, she knew she'd have to tell her eventually. One day, the secret would come out, and the further she pushed back reviling the truth, the worse she knew Mai's reaction would be, not to mention Joey's. There was still the question of what exactly Melina had told the police. _You don't have to worry about it, about anything. You're safe. _Yes, but what exactly did that mean? And she was safe, but what about the others? How could the story come out about them and her not be dragged into it? Exactly how safe was she? They'd never exactly gotten that far…

"Sure," Murphy said with a shrug, "but you're meeting my friend."

"Fine," Serenity agreed. So she'd have to put up with some guy Murphy knows. Big deal. Hopefully this would be able to break some of the ice between her and Mai, and really, that was the only thing Serenity was worried about.

**A/N **This was pretty short, sorry, next chapter will have more plot to it, promise.I'm sorry it took me forever to update. I know. I'm awful about that. I really will try to make these more frequent. Thank you for reading, and thanks especially to **Sleepy Dreamer 9**, **Havelock Vetinari**, **EuphrasieTheOw**l, and **Black Licorice Addict **for reviewing the last chapter! Hoped you enjoyed and please review!


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not, have not, and never will, own Yu-Gi-Oh. Surprise, surprise. **

So far, Serenity's night had gone pretty well. Sure, Murphy had not remembered (pretended to forget?) Mai's name once, but the blonde had been able to casually look over it. The two were getting along nicely, exchanging stories about the glory days at some retreat they all used to go to. Though Serenity had never been to Gorge Swaim's country house where it all took place, the girls' stories were entertaining.

"So," Murphy said after her and Mai had finished laughing about another story involving golf cart races and a hot tub, "are you ready to meet my friend now?"

Serenity groaned. Mai raised an eyebrow. "Friend?" She echoed, scanning Serenity curiously.

"It was one of the conditions of me not trashing Kaiba's house," Murphy told Mai matter-of-factly.

"I see," Mai smiled, the amusement in her voice obvious.

"How about we order another round of drinks, _then _I'll-"

"I have the four S's on my phone, and they are party animals," Murphy warned, her face completely serious.

"Fine, fine." Serenity said, sighing in defeat, "Are you sure he's even here?" Serenity asked. Murphy hadn't mentioned this guy the entire night, and she was staring to think her friend had forgotten.

"Positive," Murphy nodded, "He's working tonight."

The club itself was somewhere Serenity had never been. Usually, Murphy stuck to the same obscure places, but that night she had suggested they come to Jan, a mostly student-run place that didn't really seem like her scene. Serenity had decided this decision must be due to her friend's employment.

"The bartender?" Mai asked skeptically, eyeing the bald, tattoo-adorned twenty-something pouring a drink.

Murphy shook her head, a smile playing on her lips. "You're so going to love him, Serenity. I can just feel it."

"I think," Mai said, her gaze still on the bartender, "that Serenity should be allowed to at least see him before she's forced to make conversation. I mean she should have _some _veto power."

"I agree," Serenity said instantly.

One of the reasons Serenity was bothering to go through with this was to try and make Mai see that in no way did Serenity have some sort of relationship with Seto (how embarrassing), even if it meant making awkward small talk with some guy Murphy knew.

"I can do that. He's up there." Serenity's eyes followed to where Murphy had nodded. By the stage where a band was setting up, there was a small group of college-aged boys looking bored and uninterested with the hustle around them.

"The red-head?" Serenity asked. She had no issues with gingers.

"What? No! The band!"

Serenity blinked. "What?" She and Mai asked at the same time.

"Oh come on, lead singer? He's amazing. And his band is somewhat-okay too." Murphy said, taking a sip of the drink in front of her.

"Oh my God," Mai said, suddenly sitting up, "Is that-"

"Malcolm Rags. Yup," Murphy smirked, obviously pleased with herself.

Serenity quickly turned to Mai for an explanation, but all the blonde did was growl, "Not a chance, Murphy."

"What? Malcolm's great!" She insisted.

"And completely nuts," Mai scowled, "Do you remember that time they found him passed out in the fountain?"

"That," Murphy frowned, "was not under his control."

"_And,_" She continued, "That time he went on a joyride in his father's yacht. For three months."

"Okay, that was a bit over the top, but-"

"_And-_"

"I'm going to the bathroom," Serenity said standing up. The two girls ignored her and kept discussing, or defending, in Murphy's case, the many scandals of Malcolm Rags.

Serenity made her way through the crowd, dodging loud, drunk, teenagers, and stepping around dancing couples. Though she'd only been to about two, Serenity decided she hated clubs. They were loud, dark, and filled to the brim with horny frat boys. She just couldn't see the appeal.

The brunette was starting to lose hope of ever making it through the sea of people that had definitely doubled since she had arrived. "Should have known this would be a bad idea," Serenity mumbled to herself. As if proving this point, a tall boy with shaggy black hair stumbled straight into her, sending whatever he had been drinking down his stripped button-down, and almost knocking Serenity over.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry, I didn't get anything on you did- Serenity?"

Serenity, her hand still clutched on the stool she'd grabbed to keep from falling over, looked up. "Samuel? Hi," She smiled, standing up straight. Well. That was a coincidence. Serenity decided to give Murphy the benefit of the doubt and say it wasn't planned.

"Hey," He beamed, "I feel like I haven't seen you for a while. Kaiba's had us actually working," The boy paused, running his fingers through his hair," And the one night I do see you, this happens."

Serenity laughed. "Don't worry about it," She said, "It's a good look for you."

The boy smiled. "I was talking about almost making you club-kill, but thanks. Now I feel a little less like a four-year-old." He paused, looking around, and then asked, "Can I buy you a drink?"

Serenity hesitated.

"An apology drink? For almost plowing you to the ground?" He assured her, "Just one."

Serenity smiled, "What if we just went outside instead? This place feels like it's suffocating me."

Samuel nodded. "I know the feeling."

The two wove their way through the remainder of the crowd, finally making it to the door, thankfully, without anymore accidents. They sat down on the sidewalk a few feet away from the door, not bothering to walk across to the park to find a bench. "So, what brings you here? You don't seem like this would be your place of choice."

"It's not," Serenity confirmed, wondering what kind of place she looked like she _would _chose, "Murphy brought me here."

Samuel rolled his eyes, but smiled. "Of course," He nodded.

"What about you?" Serenity asked, "Is getting your shirt beer-stained a weekly occurrence?"

"Thankfully, no. Sam is going through one of his post-college freak-outs, and insisted we come. Apparently he used to hang out here a lot," Here Samuel's eyes went flat, "with his fraternity."

Suddenly, Serenity realized how much older Samuel must have been than her. She didn't know why it hadn't registered before. He would have had to have already graduated college to be working for Kaiba Corp. "So, um," Serenity started, not sure how to brig the subject up without it being too awkward.

"I'm twenty-three," He smiled, as if reading her mind. Serenity nodded. Joey would never go for that. "But I'm not dangerous," He added, then, and Serenity could even tell with the faint bit of light, his face immediately went red, "Not that you would be wondering or anything. I meant- Wow. I can not believe I said that." Serenity laughed. "I didn't think you were," Serenity assured him.

There was a long pause before Samuel asked finally, "I didn't see you for a while before this summer. What happened?"

Serenity grimaced. "Kaiba and I had a disagreement of a sort. It all worked out in the end," She said with a shrug. Luckily the subject was dropped. The girl was starting to wonder if she could have a single night without having to think about him. It seemed like he was everywhere, the one common denominator in almost everyone she knew. And at that moment, Serenity felt a wave of something- anger, frustration, resentment she wasn't sure- crash over her. Why did all of her emotions have to revolve around _him_? Kaiba was, after all, only human. Would she be like this for the rest of her summer, the rest of her year, even? Constantly having to make sure he was satisfied with what she was doing? _Everything _in this city revolved around him it seemed, and he knew it. And, though maybe this was only because of the alcohol (she _had _drank a tad more than usual that night, she would admit), just like that, completely out of the blue, Serenity was sick of it. Who did he think he was, keeping her on strings the way he did. He couldn't run her life like she was running Murphy's. She was nobody's to control. She couldn't let herself become his puppet. "Kaiba's not home this weekend," Serenity said suddenly, sitting up, "if you and your friends want to go over to his house for the night, I've got the key." Serenity felt as is someone else- definitely not herself- was saying this. Hadn't she just been talking Murphy out of this just that night? But then, Serenity realized, she really didn't care. What had she been trying to do anyway? Serenity felt herself frown. Had she, Serenity wondered, been trying to please Seto her entire time working at Kaiba Corporation without even realizing it, some sub-conscious thing, caused by his long hatred of her family? Or had everyone been right all along. Maybe she was in love with Kaiba. From the very beginning, and trying to reign in Murphy had been the only way she'd known to show it. Serenity laughed dryly, without a bit of humor. Like that would ever happen. She knew how the all-mighty, Mr. God-of-Domino felt about her, a dirty Wheeler. She wouldn't be stupid enough to want him. Never.

"Are you sure?" Samuel asked hesitantly, bringing Serenity back to her conversation. "If Kaiba finds out-" He said slowly.

"Kaiba will be fine," Serenity said quickly, with a pang of agitation, as she stood up, almost as if acting before she could change her mind. Serenity felt an odd rush of some sort. Power, maybe? Then, oddly, she wondered if this was how people like Bex, who had controlled every move all the members of her social group made, felt like all the time. Serenity felt herself smirk. She quite liked it.

"Okay then," Samuel smiled, "That sounds great. I'll go find the rest of the guys."

Serenity nodded and Samuel disappeared back into the club. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed Murphy's number, "The office party is on," Serenity told her firmly, leaving no room for questioning the matter.

There was a pause on the other end of the line before Murphy said, "I have never been more proud of you in my life." Serenity ended the call and stuffed her phone back into her pocket, ignoring what should have been her biggest warning.

* * *

"I'm really glad we ran into each other tonight," Samuel said through a gasp of air. Serenity merely nodded, her arms were wrapped around his neck as she sat on his lap, not caring how the others could walk in at any second. Murphy catching her making out with Samuel was the least of her worries, and Mai had gone home before they'd walked through Kaiba's front doors.

"We should have started hanging out so-"

"Mhm, yeah," Serenity said, pushing herself off the boy, "Totally." Her vision was already blurred, but Serenity poured herself- almost missing the glass entirely- another drink. If she kept going at this rate, she'd be drunk in no time. Or was she now? No… not yet…

"You know, I've been hoping we would do this for a long time," Samuel continued, oblivious to Serenity's disinterest, "I know nothing happened between us before, but this time I think-"

"Have you seen Murphy?" Serenity asked, not having listened to a word he'd said, "I'm pretty sure she has my phone." She stood up shakily, her hand quickly having to reach out and grab the nearest thing, which just so happened to be Samuel's shoulder. "Look, I'll be back in a minute, okay?"

"Serenity, maybe I should come with you. You seem off, and I don't want you getting-"

Serenity turned around and glared at him. "I'll be fine."

The brunette made it out of the den and walked straight to the kitchen. "Okay," Murphy said as she pushed through the opposite door, "Where has this side of you been for the past God-knows-how-many-months? Do you even know how much fun we could have been having this entire time?"

Serenity merely shrugged. "Do you have my phone?" She asked, rubbing her temples. Were the lights in the kitchen always this bright? God, they were annoying.

Murphy shook her head. "You left it out in the entrance hall, right?"

"Guess so," Serenity pushed passed Murphy to another hallway.

"Hey," Her friend called after her, "Is it alright if I invite one or two more people?"

Serenity paused. Her judgment screamed no. Serenity ignored it. "Sure, call however you want. I don't care."

Just as Murphy had said, Serenity cell phone was lying on the tall glass table in the entrance hall. Once she'd flipped open the screen, the girl found she had two missed calls from Joey, a short text she didn't bother replying to from Mai, and a message from Kaiba. Serenity stopped. Should she delete it now without even bothering to listen to it? Yes, one side of her said, who cares what he has to say? Serenity didn't. The other half of Serenity urged herself to listen to it. He might, somehow, be on to them. In the end, the first half's argument won. If he knew what they were doing, they were already dead. Nothing they could do about it now. Serenity jabbed the delete button with her thumb, sat her phone back down on the table, and didn't pick it up for the rest of the night.

"So, when are we getting the tour?"

Murphy had invited a few more people, thankfully not too many. At first Serenity hadn't recognized them, but when a tall boy with cropped platinum blonde hair and bright green eyes stepped forward, Serenity instantly knew whom he was, the lead singer of the band that had been about to start playing at the club they'd been at earlier. Serenity turned to Murphy and raised an eyebrow. True, the curly-haired girl had seemed disappointed when Serenity had found Samuel, not thinking twice about Murphy's friend. "Malcolm Rags," Murphy had exclaimed, looking dumbstruck, "I offered you _Malcolm Freaking Rags_ and you choose _him? _Dear God, Serenity! _Malcolm Rags_!"

Murphy didn't return Serenity's look. She was talking to Malcolm Rags with over animation, making the blonde laugh. The guy was pretty famous. He'd had a few albums, and a small handful of hits. He wasn't a superstar, but he definitely had some street credibility. Serenity thought it was a good thing she ran into Samuel, because the two seemed pretty smitten with each other.

"I think a tour sounds awesome," Stan, one of the four S's, said, walking out of the kitchen, "I've always wanted to see this place."

"Agreed," Nodded Steve, "I have to admit, so far I'm a little disappointed. This just looks like some old person's mansion. Does he have, like, a secret lair we can visit or something?"

Here Murphy perked up, then a sly smile appeared on her lips. "Well, there is one thing," She said, her brown eyes flickering impishly, "but I'm not supposed to show anyone."

"You never were very good with secrets," Grinned Malcolm Rags (Serenity, for some reason, couldn't think his first name without his last name attached) from behind Murphy. This only seemed to encourage her more.

"You know what? I really shouldn't," Murphy sighed, but her eyes were still dancing, and Serenity knew her game wasn't over.

Just as she had wanted, Murphy's statement was met with a round of protests. Murphy smirked. Exactly the reaction she had been hoping for. "Okay, okay," She said after a minute, as if everyone hadn't known she'd relent. "But none of you guys can say anything, he'll kill me. I'm serious. I mean, _I'm_ not allowed in there."

Serenity couldn't help but snort in laughter at this. Murphy not being allowed in a room was far from unusual, not at all the big deal she was making it out to be.

"You laugh now," She whispered, looping her arm with Serenity's as the walked down a dark hallway Serenity had never been in, "but even you, my oh-so-dubious friend, will be impressed."

Serenity smiled and rolled her eyes. "What," She whispered back, "did you finally find his porn stash? About time." Murphy ignored her.

When the group walked further until they reached a door at the end of the hallway. "It's locked," Samuel said as he tried to pull the door open.

"No shit," Murphy said pushing in front of him. She dug around her pocket for a minute, and then pulled out something resembling a hotel room key. She slid it down the slot and the door clicked open. Murphy paused. For half a second Serenity could see the lines of hesitation etched onto her face, but just like that they were gone, and the girl was sauntering forwards, not a look back. Serenity followed the other into the room, but at first she didn't see the significance. The first the she noticed was that it was dark, and the second, that it was cold. The floor was aluminum, and definitely didn't fit in with the overall layout of the house. No one said anything before Murphy flipped on a light switch, "Feast your eyes on these beauties."

There was a shuffle to get closer to the three large, glass capsules at the end of the room. "Whoa," Samuel muttered, and Serenity could only dumbly nod beside him. Three Blue Eyes White Dragons sat behind glass, the only light in the room shinning down on them.

"I heard," Malcolm Rags said taking a step closer, "that those are the only three left in the world, because he ripped up the fourth. Took it from old guy or something." Serenity didn't say anything. She felt uncomfortable, as if she was seeing some part of Seto she didn't want to, like some part of his personal life was being spilled in front of her.

"We should go," Serenity said, just as Malcolm Rags said, "Open the containers." The two looked at each other then quickly looked away. Neither of their statements was acknowledged.

"You guys don't understand," Murphy's voice was low, her eyes grave, "this used to be his life."

"It's a fucking card game," Mumbled the bass player of the bad Murphy had invited over.

Murphy shook her head, "It was his life," She repeated. There was a stiff silence. Serenity remembered the days of Duel Monsters. Kaiba wasn't the only one with the obsession. Her brother, all his friends, it was all they ever talked about. Serenity herself had dueled, like, once, but that had been years ago, and she had never revisited the game. Yugi was still fairly active in the Duel Monsters world, but Joey and Seto had both been forced to move on.

"Why'd he quit?" Stan asked, "He was good, wasn't he?"

"The best," Murphy said quietly. Serenity opened her mouth, but quickly shut it. She wouldn't go there now.

"Not true," A voice Serenity didn't recognize chimed in from behind her, "That one short guy definitely beat him."

"Yeah," Another agreed, "multiple times."

Murphy shook her head. "He could have beaten him. He's _Seto Kaiba_," She said, using the same voice to say his name as she said Malcolm Rags, Serenity noted. And no one in the room could bring themselves to say otherwise.

After this, the office workers and most of Malcolm Rag's band had cleared out. Only the bass player, the "manager" (who seemed to be just more of a male groupie to Serenity) and Malcolm Rags himself bothered to say, but since Murphy and the blonde had long disappeared, and any attempt at small talk was useless, Serenity found herself playing quarters in the entrance hall with the bass player and manager. Or rather, loosing at quarters. Bouncing a coin into a cup was a lot more difficult than it had sounded when she'd agreed to play. It didn't help that the more she lost, the worse she got. It was an endless cycle.

Serenity had long passed lightheaded and warm. Standing up straight was starting to become a challenge. The room was fuzzy, and she could feel the blood pounding through her, but Quarters kept on.

In fact, the three was so engrossed in their game, that they didn't hear the Serenity's phone ringing, though the girl had placed it right next to them when they'd cleared the table. Nor did they hear the landline phone, or the sound of a car pulling up the driveway. And right up until the door opened, they had no idea someone else would soon be joining them.

Serenity stared at the blurred vision of Kaiba, standing in the doorway, a suitcase behind him and his briefcase in hand, and he stared back. "Well," He said in a steady voice though Serenity would bet his eyes were sharp and cold, "I can't say I'm surprised."

"Well," Serenity sighed, "neither can I, really. You always catch us. Like, _always_." Her words were slightly run together, but she could still be understood. She sat the beer she was about to be forced to drink back on the table (thank God, she was sure she couldn't drive another gulp down) and then asked, "So, what was it this time? Last minute airline issue? Urgent meeting rescheduled?"

Kaiba dropped his briefcase on the floor, where it landed with a heavy thud. "The liquor cabinet has a silent alarm."

"Ah," Serenity nodded. She paused, "Does Murphy know this?"

"Most likely. She probably just did this to agitate me. It's not like she doesn't have access alcohol herself," The CEO looked around the room, "Is she even here?" He asked with a scowl.

Serenity nodded.

"Well then, where is she?" He demanded, obviously annoyed. No one said anything, but one of the band members snickered. Seto shot him a glare, and not a second later the two had shuffled out the door.

Just then a thought popped into Serenity's head. "Doesn't she have a boyfriend? Marx. He used to come over and we all hated him."

"How should I know?" Seto replied coolly. Serenity had thought of what would happen is Kaiba should walk in on the party, completely disobeying the rules he had sat out for them, and this was not how she pictured it going at all. Where was the yelling and lecturing? "Oh, don't worry." Seto replied as if reading her mind, "We're not through discussing this."

Serenity once would have found this intimidating, but now, it was just annoying. "Right," She said blankly, "Can't wait." She started to walk away, but after almost falling over her own feet, stopped. This was going to be difficult. From the mirror beside her, after groaning at the sight of her pink, slightly sweaty face, she could see Seto was watching her, clearly amused. Serenity scowled. _Jackass._

A smirk on his face, Seto sauntered over and placed his hand on the small of her back. "Keep going," He commanded. Serenity, though hating his obvious mien of superiority, did just that.

He was being helpful, Serenity had to admit. Every time she stumbled, he was there, making sure she didn't fall. If she wasn't so generally annoyed with him, Serenity knew she would have been grateful.

"I have to say," Seto said through a smirk, "the rebellious behavior from you is… surprising."

Serenity felt her face heat. Wow. Okay. She definitely hadn't been expecting him to call her out on that so point-blank. But, really, what did she have to be rebelling against? What had Kaiba ever done to her besides his job? She thought back to earlier that night, her sudden moment of anger with Seto that had led to all of this. And, suddenly, as she watched the blue-eyed boy smirk down at her, Serenity knew why. It wasn't his arrogance or controlling nature, as she had been trying to tell herself. As the weeks went on, he was becoming a stronger and stronger force in Serenity's life, and it scared her. He scared her, still, and there was no way around it. Now it was just for a different reason. He would always have something to hold over her. And what did she have to make it equal? Nothing.

The thought alone made Serenity's stomach churn. She tired to pull away from Seto, but he held to her arm. "Get off." She mumbled, yanking her arm away.

The CEO tried to calm her, but Serenity kept pulling. All she knew was that she had to get away from him. "Serenity," The sound of her first name made her stop. It sounded so foreign coming from his lips, like she'd never before heard the word spoken out loud. "You need to stop, you can stay here tonight. I don't want you to risk the way home."

Serenity shook her head. It was too much for one night. How dare he be so, well, _kind _to her when she'd just made up her mind to truly hate him. No. He couldn't do this he- Oh God. _No! _ But before passing out cold, the last thing Serenity could remember was standing right there and puking all over Seto Kaiba's Italian leather shoes.

**A/N **Fifteen chapters! This seems significant. So this chapter is a little lengthy. Hope you guys don't mind. But, hey, two updates in one week! I kind of think of this chapter and the next as transition chapters, as things are about to change once more, though this time they (most likely) won't be for the worse. Thanks to **James Birdsong, sleepy dreamer 9, Cster, **and **Havelock Vetinari, **and **Black Licorice Addict **so, so much for reviewing! I hope you guys liked, thanks for reading, and please review!


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: This won't change. It's still not mine. **

It didn't take long for Serenity to realize where she was. Not because she'd been in the room before, or because she had a particularly good memory of what had happened the previous night, but because as she was struggling, her knees weak and head pounding, to sit up in the red queen-sized bed, she could see the silhouette of tall, lean boy, trying to quietly exit through the white door standing a few feet ahead. "Seto?" Serenity's voice was dry, and her throat burned with just the one simple word.

The boy paused, and Serenity could tell he was debating whether or not to turn around. Finally, with a slight sigh that didn't go unnoticed, he replied with a simple, slightly agitated, "Yes?"

"I-" Serenity hesitated. What did she want? Her head was still fuzzy, and she wondered how long she'd been asleep. Through the window Serenity could see that the sky was still an inky black. She wondered vaguely how long Seto had stayed in the room with her before he'd decided to leave. A pang of guilt shot through the girl. She'd purposely defied him, out of her own insecurities, and, still, as he had been doing since she'd first stated working for him, Seto had helped her. "I'm sorry," She breathed, and for a minute the girl was afraid he hadn't heard. But then, Seto turned around completely, and though the room was dark, Serenity could tell he was watching her. "Stay with me?" She asked, "Just a little longer?"

Once again, the boy paused. But just as Serenity was sure he was going to refuse, in the almost non-existent light, she could just barely make him out nodding his head. He walked to the other side of the room, pulled a wooden chair from the corner, and sat down beside her.

There was a tense silence in which neither of the two said anything, until Serenity repeated, "I'm sorry." She didn't know what else to say. What else was there to say to someone after- wait. Did she… Serenity let out a groan.

"What is it?" Seto asked, almost gently, "I can get you something for headache, if you need it."

"I puked all over you shoes," Serenity moaned, then flipped over to her stomach and buried her head in her pillow. She was so dead.

To her surprise, the boy actually let out a soft laugh. "You're not the first," He told her, "Though I think you're the only one to ever feel any remorse over it," He added.

Serenity lifted her face slightly, "Really?" She asked. Seto nodded. "I'll pay for new shoes," Serenity offered.

"It's fine," Seto told her.

"Can I ask you something?" It came out of her mouth before she could stop and think. Serenity considered taking about, but just as she was about to, Seto replied with a blank, "Yes."

Serenity thought a minute. Would this not make it even? Provide just a bit of security? She pushed herself up, her arms shaking slightly as she did so. "Seto," She said quietly, making sure her brown eyes had met with his blue, "I need a secret."

Seto drew back slightly. "From me?" He asked hesitantly, "Why on earth would you need that?" The aggravation was back, full force, but it didn't phase Serenity.

"Just one," She coaxed, "it doesn't even have to be big."

For a long while Seto didn't say anything. He watched her, his eyes narrowed, but not, it seemed, with anger. He looked as he was searching her. But for what, Serenity wasn't sure.

"Just one?" He asked.

Serenity nodded, but it made her head pound. She quickly stopped.

"Fine," Seto said, he leaned forward, "You want to know a secret?"

"Yes," Serenity replied, her eyes wide.

"My secret," Seto said softly, "is that I almost considered telling you a secret."

Serenity blinked. "What? No. That's doesn't count." But Seto was already standing up, pushing the chair he had been sitting in back to the corner. "Goodnight, Wheeler."

"That is cheap," Serenity insisted. Seto laughed the same small, quiet way he had before.

"Goodnight." He repeated, and then walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

* * *

The following morning did not go as easily. When Serenity had finally mustered up the courage to pull herself out of bed, she walked to the hallway, having no idea which way to go. The brunette ended up just walking around the halls, taking any staircase she came across until, finally, she found herself walking down the winding marble staircase leading to the front hall she knew so well.

It didn't take long, however, for Serenity to realize that perhaps this wasn't the best of ideas. She could hear loud, angry voices coming from the living room, though it was about two halls down. Cringing slightly as she heard Murphy yell a particularly vulgar line at Kaiba, Serenity pushed through the swinging door of the kitchen, where she found Mokuba staring determinedly at the bowl on cereal in front of him, his jaw clenched tight.

"Mokuba?" Serenity sat down beside the boy, who barely addressed her pressance.

Finally, the boy, still staring down, managed to say, in a shaky voice, "They _never _stop fighting," He said blankly, "Never."

Serenity ran her fingers through the boy's hair as he squeezed his eyes shut. He was right. Murphy and Seto were always fighting, yelling at each other, using petty forms of revenge such as Murphy had the night before to get back at each other, and for what? No one, Serenity included, had ever stopped to think about what it might be doing to Mokuba, who witnessed it all. "I'll be right back," Serenity whispered to him, giving his shoulder a squeeze.

She left the kitchen, and went straight to the living room where Seto and Murphy were waving their verbal assault on each other.

"- Most irresponsible, inconsiderate-"

"Oh really, Seto? _I'm _inconsiderate?"

"Yes!" Seto snarled back, "How much you fail to realize-"

"Stop!" Serenity growled from the doorway, making Seto and Murphy do just that. Whatever warmth the CEO had shown her the night before was gone, his lip curled up, and Serenity could tell he was about to go off on her the same way he was Murphy. "Mokuba is in the other room," She said quickly, not wanting to face the CEO's wrath, "and, for his sake, will you guys please try to sort this out calmly. Or at least go outside."

There was a noticeable change in the CEO's face. His snarl disappeared and his eyes softened, and then shifted to the floor in front of him. When Serenity looked over to Murphy, she found the girl to have one the same. Not knowing what to do next, Serenity turned around and left the room, retreating to where Mokuba sat. "Hey," She said softly sitting down beside him, "Joey and Yugi and all them are coming over to our apartment today, I was just about to head over there if you want to come."

Mokuba perked up slightly at this. "Really?" He asked. Serenity nodded.

"That sounds fun," Mokuba replied. He took a minute to collect himself, taking deep, slightly shuddering breath and rubbing his eyes, and then he slid off the chair he was sitting in. Serenity smiled slightly, "Good, I'm going to go tell your brother."

"Hey Mai, hey Joey," Serenity called as she walked through the door. Luckily, she was already scheduled to stay at the Kaiba mansion to housesit, so her late night was not questioned. Mokuba immediately bounded over to Joey who, quite literally, welcomed him with open arms, pulling the child into a strangling hug.

"What's going on?" Mai asked Serenity out of the corer of her mouth as the two watched Mokuba and Joey laugh over something the blonde boy had said, "I thought he was with Kaiba."

"He was," Serenity replied, "There was a bit of an issue. They came home early."

Mai nodded, and thankfully didn't ask anymore on that subject. "Is he okay?" She asked, frowning, "His eyes look a little red."

"Home problems. Nothing that can't be fixed." Mai nodded. Both girls knew a thing or two about that.

Not long after, without bothering with trivial things such as knocking, Tristan and Duke Devlin walked in, followed soon by Yugi and Téa.

It was nice to see all of them again, Serenity felt like they hadn't all been together in ages. Téa was on break from dance school, and in town for the first time in months, Tristan was busy with classes, Yugi was always on tour for something to do with Duel Monsters, and Duke, CEO of his own company, always had work to do. And, what made Serenity even happier, both Tristan and Duke were now in relationships.

"This is turning out nicely," Mai said later that afternoon, sitting down beside Serenity. The brunette nodded. "It's kind of weird, you know. Like, everyone's the same, but different."

Mai shrugged, "People change." Serenity agreed. They all had changed, at least a little. It was just a part of life.

Joey and Tristan both jumped up at the sound of knocking on the door. "Pizza!" They yelled at the same time. Serenity rolled her eyes. Okay, so they hadn't changed _that _much.

"Man, I thought you'd never get- uh. Hello?" Tristan turned to Joey, who was staring dumbstruck at the door.

Serenity and Mai both leapt out of their barstools and hurried to the door.

"I hope this isn't a problem," Serenity heard a deep, controlled voice say, and Serenity mentally groaned.

"Seto," Serenity beamed, "there you are!"

"We thought you might not be able to make it." Mai said, shooting a glare to Joey, who had opened his mouth to protest.

"Oh…right," Seto was clearly bemused. Serenity led him to the stools her and Mai had been sitting on. She noticed his eyes were sat on Mokuba, who was staring at the ground, not conceding his brother's pressance.

"He'll come around," Serenity assured him. Seto only nodded. "You don't have to stay," Serenity told the boy sitting next to her, "I'll make sure he gets home alright."

Seto paused. "I think he'd like it if I stayed. If it's not a hassle, that is."

"No, of course not."

Seto nodded. "Then again," He said, smirking slightly, "you did ruin my Salvatore Ferragamo drivers. You have a bit of an obligation."

Serenity groaned. "Not my finest moment." She admitted, "but it could have been worse. I could have, you know, trashed your house and drank all of your liquor. Oh wait."

Seto's smirk remained. "At least you don't deny it. Speaking of, there better be no slacking with my employees. I need to have at least three new products out before Christmas."

Serenity frowned. "Why would there be- oh. _Oh. _How do you know about that?" Serenity scowled. Right. Samuel. She didn't want to think about that little mistake. "Murphy?" Serenity asked. Seto nodded. "How did that even come up in your- you know what? Never mind. I really don't want to know. You don't have to worry," Serenity sighed, "that's going nowhere." The two said nothing for a minute. Serenity knew leading Samuel on like that was awful. She didn't know what she had been thinking. She hadn't been thinking. Deciding she'd worry about that later, Serenity cleared her throat and asked, "So, where's Murphy? I'm surprised you left her home alone. Seems like that would be banned from now on."

Here, there was a noticeable shift in the air. Seto turned slightly away from her, and his eyes, as they had earlier that day, shifted to the floor. "What?" Serenity asked, "What happened, Seto?"

"Nothing," He said quickly, "she's fine."

"But?" Serenity asked, raising an eyebrow.

"But," Seto continued, "We've both decided it would be best if she lived on her own from now on." There was a long pause. "It's not good for use to be this close. It creates an unhealthy environment for all of us, especially Mokuba."

"Will she be okay?" Serenity asked hesitantly. What the CEO had said was true. The two being so close to each other so often was asking for trouble. There was, and would always be, it seemed, too much tension between them. Murphy and Seto could never coexist peacefully, at least, not in the same house.

Seto nodded. "She's packing her things now."

"Wow," Serenity said, leaning against the wall, "it's going to be weird without her at the house." The brunette wasn't too concerned though. They'd still see each other everyday at work. It wasn't as if she was moving across the country.

Seto turned around and grabbed a pen from a cup on the counter, then a post-it note. In his perfect, block writing, Seto scrawled something down and handed it to Serenity. "Apparently, she'd been looking at places for a while. She talked to the landlord this afternoon and they worked something out." He handed her the paper with Murphy's address. "She wanted me to ask you to come by tonight if you had the chance."

"Thanks," Serenity nodded, pocketing the paper.

The two were quiet for a while as they watched the rest of the group laugh, playing video games and talking loudly about their glory days. It seemed odd to Serenity for them to be talking in such a way. Had their lives really peaked that soon? Sure, they didn't have the excitement they used to, but did that mean everything was now on some sort of a decline? Serenity wasn't even sure she was part of it. She dearly hoped not. Who wants to be the girl who peaked in junior high? A shudder ran down Serenity's back at the very thought.

Serenity often worried about this. Not necessarily about her, but for Joey, mainly. He was always between jobs, and hadn't really found his calling yet. Were his high school years of tagging along with Yugi really as good as it was going to get for him? Mai caught Serenity's eye and smiled. She didn't seem upset, or even slightly nostalgic. _She _was happy. The blonde never seemed worried, so why was Serenity?

From across the room, Mokuba stood up. Serenity could feel Seto shift beside her. The grey-eyed boy maneuvered his way around fallen pizza boxes and stray controllers to where Seto sat. He paused, and then hesitantly took the seat next to his older brother.

"I'll be right back," Serenity said. She knew Seto would want to be alone with Mokuba, so made her way to sit by Mai instead. Just as she was about to take the small bit of carpet space beside the blonde, Téa grabbed her arm. "We need to talk," She said quickly, and before the girl could even reply, was being practically dragged to her bedroom at the back of the apartment.

"What's wrong?" Serenity asked, "Is it something with school? Is everything alright up there?"

"School is fine," The blue-eyed girl sighed, blowing her grown-out bangs out of her face, "It's you I'm worried about."

"Oh God, not you too," Serenity groaned. She flopped down on her bed, and not long after, Téa joined her. "Look, Mai thought the same thing. Nothing's going on between Kaiba and I. I promise. We just work together, nothing more."

There was a long pause. "I have no idea what you're talking about." Téa said finally. Serenity felt her face heat. "What I was going to say," She continued slowly, "is that I've heard you've had a tough year. I know how suffocating this city can be, and if you ever need to get away from a while, you're always welcome to come see me in New York."

"Oh," Serenity said, her face still red, "yeah, thanks. That's really great of you, Téa."

"Right. But um, since you brought _that _up, is there anything you want to-"

"Nope," Serenity said quickly. She stood up. "We should probably go back."

Téa nodded. "Agreed. We don't want them coming in here and wrecking your things."

The two girls walked back down the hall, arms looped together. "We'll have to get together while I'm still in town," Téa told her, "It has been months, after all."

"Of course," Serenity nodded. As they walked back into the living room, Serenity noticed Mokuba was now on Seto's lap, his head dropped on his older brother's shoulder.

Noticing her reentrance, Seto stood up, adjusting the sound-asleep Mokuba to his side. "I'll talk to you later," Serenity told Téa, who simply smirked and walked back to the peach couch.

"Thank you for letting us stay," Seto told her.

Serenity shrugged. "Anytime," She replied, and she meant it. She and Seto may not have been best friends, or friends at all, but neither could deny they were something. Acquaintances, maybe, Serenity wasn't sure. But Seto wasn't a stranger, the enigma her brother had once turned him into, nor was he simply her strict, egocentric boss. Maybe it was a summer's worth of evenings spent in each other's company, or even the secrets now shared between them, but something was different. There was a newfound familiarity that Serenity found she didn't particularly mind.

For the first time, Serenity thought back to the previous night to Seto's reply. _"My secret is that I almost considered telling you a secret." _ She hadn't understood when she'd first heard it, but now it was clear. He was becoming comfortable around her, something he never allowed himself to do. But what made her so special, Serenity couldn't say. She supposed it was just that she wasn't threatening. She wasn't particularly smart like he was. She wasn't gorgeous like Mai, or dear to him like Mokuba, and didn't know which of his buttons to press like Murphy did. The only thing Serenity could find was that it must be her blunt mediocrity. Wonderful.

"Oh, and Wheeler," Seto sighed as he was about to walk out the door, "don't forget to stop by Murphy's. The last thing I need is to listen to her whine for an hour because of your forgetfulness." And then he was gone, leaving Serenity smiling to herself from the other side of the door. Because of course, they couldn't get _too _friendly.

* * *

One thing that always had interested Serenity about Murphy was that though she had an enormous trust fund, one she was terrified of loosing, she never acted like she was wealthy. Of course Serenity knew not everybody was like Kaiba who monogrammed his boxers and flew around in a private jet, but Murphy insisted on wearing nothing more than jeans and tee shirts when she could, and instead of buying a penthouse in the fashionable section of Domino, Murphy bought a small place in a mostly student-filled building. Okay, so it was a little noisy. And smoky, and the whole place was a weird purple-grey color, but really, it seemed like exactly the kind of place Murphy would live.

Conveniently enough, Serenity didn't have to bother knocking, as Murphy had tied the key to apartment 44 around the doorknob. She understood the logic, now she would never loose the key, but Serenity still made a mental note to give Murphy a quick lecture on apartment safety.

For a second, Serenity feared she'd somehow walked into the wrong apartment, but glancing back down at the paper Kaiba had given her, she found that 44 was where she was supposed to be. It didn't seem like the kind of place Murphy would live. For one thing, the floor was spotless, the lights were off, only the many candles scattered across the room lit the space. The only furniture in the room was a mattress with silk sheets draped across it sitting in the corner, Murphy on top, a glass of wine in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

"Hey," Serenity called. Murphy glanced up and smiled.

"Hey, come sit with me." Serenity walked across the wood floor and sat down beside the curly haired girl. "I can't believe you live here now. Instead of at the Kaiba mansion, I mean. I can't see you anywhere but there."

Murphy sighed. She twirled her wine around the glass. "Do you want one?" She asked. Serenity shook her head. "No thanks."

There was a long silence between the two. Serenity had expected Murphy to be ecstatic about having the freedom she'd once fought so hard for, but she was quiet and though she didn't seem sad, there was definitely something off. "What's wrong?" Serenity asked, "You don't seem like yourself."

She could see Murphy hesitate. Her brown eyes flicked up to Serenity, then back down. "It's nothing," She mumbled, then took a long drag of her cigarette.

"That's bullshit and you know it. You're going to tell me what's going on or- or I don't know. Just spill so I don't have to think of something."

Murphy smiled, but kept her eyes down. "Just promise me something, Serenity."

"Of course," Serenity nodded, "Anything."

Murphy rolled over to her back, taking a deep breath, "Whatever you do, just remember that he won't let you in. He doesn't let anyone in, and if you let it, it will tear you up inside."

"Murphy, what are you-" But the girl held up her palm.

"It will happen eventually, so don't try to deny it or push it away. I can tell. God, I _know _him. And I've grown to know you too, better than you may think. Seto, he… well, he won't mean to, he doesn't do it on purpose, but he'll hurt you, Serenity, you have to be ready for that."

"Murphy, I-I don't' have feelings for Seto. I don't know what- whatever you two-" But Serenity didn't know what to say. Murphy never talked about her past, and how or if Kaiba was involved in it. "Alright, I'm sensing a story here. Spill."

Murphy didn't say anything for a while. "We've known each other for a long time, Seto and I. My parents were in the same circle as his stepfather, it may not have been by choice, but we'd gotten to know each other pretty well by the end of it all. We all had, me, him, Mai Valentine, Malcolm Rags, Bex Froy, Stacey Goldstein, all those types, you know. Anyway, I didn't really see anyone over the year, and neither did Seto. The only time we all got together was at Gorge Swaim's country house."

Serenity vaguely remembered hearing about this the night before. She nodded and motioned for Murphy to continue.

"Really, calling it a "country house" is like calling Kaiba Corp the five and dime down the street. The place was massive. We all had our own rooms and our parents had their own rooms, and there were all sorts of ballrooms and conference rooms, which was where all dads were everyday. They'd all sit in there and talk about business things that all their stay at home trophy wives didn't want to hear about. And for forever Seto would stay in there listening and taking notes or whatever it is child prodigies do, but eventually he and his step dad got into some big fight and he wasn't allowed in anymore. This, I think, who really knows what goes inside his head, was the equivalent of being booted to the kiddy table, because now all he had to do all day was sit around and tolerate us. And, sure, he may have been thirteen-year-old genius, but he had the social skills of a rock. Worse even! …. Okay, maybe not worse than a rock, but you get the picture. He could hardly talk to anyone his own age. It was pathetic."

"I can't see Kaiba as awkward." Serenity mused, leaning against the wall, her legs dangling from the edge of the bed, "I'd like to though." She grinned, and then couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, well, it wasn't as hilarious as it sounds," Murphy said bitterly, biting at her thumbnail. She lips were sat into a slight frown, and her brows were just barely knitted together.

"I'm sorry, Murph," Serenity sighed, straightening up. It was so unusual to see the girl serious about anything that Serenity was finding herself having trouble adjusting.

"I'm pouring my heart out to you, Serenity. Pouring. My. Heart."

"You're right," Serenity said quickly, "Now please, continue on."

"Right, well, as I was saying, _very _awkward. It was like he didn't know what to do with himself if he wasn't working or showing off his brains to a bunch of old guys. We could all tell he wasn't really like us, and the year before and up until that point we'd had no issue completely ignoring him. What was the point of trying to include him? He was a stuck-up little ass anyway."

Serenity raised an eyebrow. "Weren't you with a bunch of kids like Stacey Goldstein?"

"Seto was a different kind of stuck-up, he was an IQ Snob. It was one thing for someone to be you know, a Stacey snob, but none of us had any respect for an IQ Snob, _total _social pariah. But, as I thought I was pretty hot shit back then, so I decided I would oh-so-graciously take him under my wing or whatever. Yeah, that didn't quite work out."

Serenity had to bite back a laugh, and though Murphy was obviously trying to keep her face straight, it didn't take long before they were both laughing.

"God, stop!" Murphy whined, "The story's not even close to finished yet. Besides, it just didn't work at first. Once he realized he really wasn't allowed in the big kid room anymore, he started to come around. Incredibly slowly, mind you, it took him until next year to venture into the hot tub, but honestly, I think it's human nature to want friends, even if you do think you're God's gift to the world like Kaiba does."

"Wait, so you and Seto were friends when you were younger?" Serenity grinned.

"What did I say about pouring my heart out?" Murphy snapped. Serenity quickly stopped grinning. "Yes, we were friends. Well, as good of friends as Seto could ever be with anybody. He's a pretty reserved guy. And he doesn't really like people."

"Okay," Serenity nodded, "so you guys became this hesitant sort of friends when you were thirteen. Then what?"

"Then we went home for a year. Like I said, we never kept in touch, it wasn't really how this worked. I mean at this point I didn't even know he had a brother, it's not like we all of a sudden were calling each other besties and having slumber parties. Hell, by October I'd pretty much forgotten his existence, and I'm sure he would say the same for me. But, that time of year came around and come August there we were all, stuck in the same house. But he was little different that year. At first he was even quieter than before, but at the same time he was a lot less socially inept. He didn't scoff at all of our conversations or roll his eyes and correct our every grammar mistake, which, believe me, got old. He'd gone from like my reluctant little project to the silent tagalong. He'd come with us, but he wouldn't drink, let alone roll up a fat one. He just kind of watched, and I get it now. He'd never seen anything like it, like us. What was an everyday occurrence for me was a totally foreign concept to him."

"It was just another subject to him, right?" Serenity asked, "Just something else study and master."

Murphy pointed her finger towards her friend. "Exactly. But eventually he caved. To the alcohol, I mean. I'm proud to say I'm the first person to ever get Seto Kaiba drunk. If you ask me that should definitely be in some sort of record book, but I'd rather not deal with Kaiba's lawyers, so I won't press the issue. And after the beer hit his bloodstream the secrets started coming out. Nothing Oprah-worthy now, but there was some pretty interesting shit."

"Like?" Serenity asked, leaning forward slightly.

"Like," Murphy continued, her pale lips curling into a sneer, "that he had a thing for Bex Froy." Serenity thought back to the dirty glares shared between the two girls every time they met. She definitely didn't like where this is going. "I guess it's not all that surprising. I won't deny that she's a beauty, but I'm not going to lie, I found it pretty fucking hilarious at the time. Not that I said anything, I was, what would you call it…. _supportive. _ He didn't rant about it or anything, or ever bring it up after that night, but once I knew there was no mistaking it. He'd just, like, watch her. Kind of creepy if you ask me, but whatever, anyway, they ended up making out one night, but the next day she totally blew him off. I know right? What a bitch. He was pretty good at acting like he didn't care though."

Murphy stopped. She stood up and walked to the other room. Serenity blinked. She'd known her for months, but it still caught her off guard when Murphy randomly left, which she did often.

"It's weird," Serenity said when Murphy had walked back into the room, a fresh glass of wine in her hand, "I can't picture him like this. Getting drunk, chasing girls, being an awkward preteen."

"Well, if I were to guess, I'd say that's exactly what he wants. Look, there's one thing everybody, me included, forgets about Kaiba. Of course there's been some girl somewhere that won't jump in his pants when he snaps his fingers. Of course he was awkward when he was thirteen and couldn't hold his liquor the first time he drank. Sure, I'll call him a robot, but that's just how I am, the bottom line is, he's_ human. _People loose sight of that."

Serenity wasn't sure how to reply. Of course Seto was human, but when Murphy put it like that was it was different.

"But back to what I was saying. Another year passed, I went back with my life and he with his, blah blah blah, the next few years were basically the same and then- bam. All of a sudden, he'd turned gorgeous. It was crazy. He hadn't been ugly before, but the difference was huge. Post-puberty treated him well. And it wasn't just his looks either. He'd changed. Of course, things had changed for him. He was about sixteen or seventeen, I forget which exactly, most likely the latter, and his stepfather had died over the year."

"Was he upset?" Serenity asked, frowning.

"That was the thing. He seemed to not care, and not in that whole I'm-too-cool-to-have-emotions thing, I mean, he really seemed to not even be slightly affected by it at all. Look, Seto, like I said earlier, he's not the sensitive type, doesn't go around talking about _feelings _and crazy stuff like that, but I just have to say, I'm pretty sure there was some weird stuff going on in that house. I don't know what exactly, but something was off," The girl paused for a moment, her teeth sinking into her lower lip, "None of us really saw it, not at the time. We were all too absorbed in our own lives, but looking back…" Murphy shook her head, "I don't know. Like I said, I don't what, if anything, went on, and I never will. Either way, the kid was different. We spent more time together, mostly since Ben Barkley had gone off to college so I was the main supplier of the group."

"Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa! Seto turned _druggie?_" Serenity cried.

"Hey, that term is offensive! But, essentially, yes. He hit the stuff _hard. _It was crazy, he was catching up with me, and this was when I was starting to peak at _my _wild years. During the day he'd sit through the meetings and business talks, he was CEO of Kaiba Corp, but at night, he was with us. Guess I should point out though, the "us" had shortened. When you're young everybody's friends with everybody, but we'd pretty much divided into two. There was Mai and Bex and her little crew, plus a few more you wouldn't know. And then there was Malcolm Rags, Kaiba, me and three other girls who are unimportant to the story. I always got the impression Seto didn't really like any of them, and I was right, by the way, but he tolerated them, mostly because I did and he had to get his coke fix somehow. And, I'm just going to come out and say it, I was starting to fall for him pretty hard."

Serenity grimaced.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But once I got stuck on a guy, I was stuck. And you have to give me some credit. He _is _sexy. So anyway, his hormones started flaring up a bit one night, so naturally, we slept together and then-"

"Freeze!" Serenity demanded. "You and Kaiba- oh God. Wow. Okay, not going to lie, that's a lot for me to take in."

Murphy shrugged. "It wasn't really that big a deal. I was pretty sluttish, so you know, it happened. See, my mistake was, that led me to believe that he felt for me too, which, he didn't. Not that he didn't lead me on," Murphy added bitterly, "We spent the last three days locked in my room. Of course, we were completely stoned for most of it, but still."

"But that's it right," Serenity said slowly, "you guys had a thing for a few days, and it ended. Nothing more."

Serenity could feel her stomach knotting together, but with what? Definitely not jealousy. Murphy's whole tale seemed like some twisted form of reality, and Serenity found herself wondering if that was how the girl's life was all the time. It would make since really, Murphy herself practically was just that, some twisted unrealistic girl. And yet, she was Serenity's friend, there was no denying that.

Murphy's eyes shifted away from Serenity. She didn't say anything for a while, she just sat, biting her thumbnail, until, finally, she nodded. "Yeah," She said softly, "That was all."

Serenity watched as the girl sank into the soft pillows at the head of the bed, her knees pulled to her chest and her eyes faraway. There was no question she was lying.

**A/N** So this chapter is a monster. I thought about trying to break it up, but I just wasn't sure, and I couldn't decide on the right place. If you guys want to tell me which you prefer, one longer one or two shorter ones, I'll be more than happy to work with that. Anyway, thank you to **sleepy dreamer 9, Havelock Vetinari, Black Licorice Addict, Hikarisakurariver, **and **MustLoveTakuya **for reviewing! I hope you guys liked the chapter and please review!


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I don't own it. You know this. I know this. Why do we bother? …. Oh yeah. Lawyers. **

"_How could you? I trusted you! We were supposed to be friends! You're pathetic!" It was Murphy, completely enraged; her eyes more livid than Serenity had ever seen them. She stood in the doorway to the Kaiba's den, her feet spread apart as if she were ready for a battle. _

"_I don't know what you're talking about," Serenity cried in return. And she didn't, though she palms were sweating slightly and she had an odd pit in her stomach as if she did. _

"_You knew!" Murphy growled, "You lied to me and to them!" _

"_Them? Them who? Murphy, please!" Serenity begged, but Murphy turned her back to Serenity. Serenity quickly turned to Seto, hoping for backup, or at least an explanation, but the CEO was staring blankly at his computer screen, either completely oblivious to the scene or very skilled at ignoring it. "Help me!" Serenity cried to Seto, but his eyes didn't once move to her. It was if he hadn't heard her at all._

"_What did I do?" She yelled, after Murphy, but the dark haired girl was already walking down the hallway, and before Serenity knew it, had disappeared completely. _

Serenity's eyes flew open. For a second, her whole body was tensed. She'd kept having the same dream, over and over again, first with Murphy, then Joey, and then Mai. She knew her head was trying to tell herself something, but she didn't want to think about it, let alone believe it. Serenity would not let herself love Seto. How could that even be possible? She barely even liked him as a person. No, Serenity, decided, there was no way that was possible. The only reason her head was even thinking that was because everyone was telling her it was so. Well, except for Joey, thank God. He remained to be the one person who wasn't constantly nipping at her heels about her love life, an odd turn of events, indeed.

An entire two months had passed since Murphy had informed Serenity, among other things, that she would soon be falling head over heels for her boss. Obviously, it had yet to happen. No, Serenity thought, closing her eyes, as of now, she was safe.

* * *

"You're late, Wheeler. What a surprise."

"Oh come on," Serenity sighed, "You tell me to be here at three fifteen, and school gets out at three. Fifteen minutes is not a lot of time to get to the complete other side of the city," The brunette insisted, placing a fresh cup of coffee on Seto's desk. School had been in session for a few weeks and, surprisingly, wasn't going too terribly awful.

"It is not the other side on the other side of the city," Seto scowled, bringing the steaming mug towards him, "I recall being able to get from Domino High to here in ten minutes flat."

"Yes, well, no one tried to stop you at every turn. You know I've started leaving through the back cafeteria door just to avoid them. My own friends."

"I'm too absorbed in the fact that you just implied that your boss had no friends to give a damn how you leave school and your excuse for taking so long."

"I- wow. I did do that didn't I? Wow, that's- that's really not what I meant- "

Seto smirked and leaned back in his chair. Serenity frowned. "Are you _enjoying _this?" She demanded.

"Quite. Please do keep going, watching you try to dig yourself out of that hole is oddly entertaining."

"Stop smirking," Serenity scowled, "You're supposed to be angry. I'm late, remember? Angry people don't smirk."

"Oh, well pardon me. Would you rather me fire you?" Seto replied with a roll of his eyes.

"No," Serenity sighed, "Of course not." She paused as Seto turned back to him computer. "Kaiba?" Seto grunted in response, his focus once again on his work. "_Did _you have friends in high school?" She'd never really thought about it. The idea of Seto high school brought back the memory of what Murphy had told her of all those nights ago, and was certainly something she preferred to keep out of her head.

Seto's fingers slowed over the keyboard, but he didn't stop typing. "I didn't want any."

"… So no?" Serenity asked, frowning slightly. She knew Seto wasn't exactly what you would call social, but no friends, as in none at all? That was just kind of-

"Don't," Seto said suddenly, almost making Serenity jump. "Don't start to feel- I wanted it that way. I had a job to do. I knew my true obligation. School was just something had had to go through to please the board. There was never supposed to be anything social about it." Seto's scowl was back, but now it wasn't just agitation. Serenity didn't understand. He'd treated the situation as a joke just a few seconds ago. It was just another thing that Serenity would never understand about Seto. His insane mood swings. For the first time, Seto's eyes flicked towards Serenity. The boy sighed. "That was- Murphy used to pester me about the same topic. It gets tiring."

"I understand," Serenity told him. She turned to leave, but stopped. "But, I mean, weren't you in any clubs or anything?"

"No."

"But you went to at least one football game right?" Serenity asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I didn't have time to watch people kick a ball through some stupid net."

"Seto," Serenity cried, "_Everybody _goes to the games! _Everybody! _I mean, even the people that no one talks to go- even the IQ snobs! Even-"

"I've got it, thank you!" Seto snapped, "Now will you go do what I'm actually paying you for?"

Serenity paused. "Come to a football game with me."

Seto stared at her.

"I'm serious," Serenity said. "I- you should. Go to just one."

Seto opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but didn't. He just stared at her as if she'd suggested something outrageous. But, finally, he asked, "When?"

"I can't believe your _dating _Kaiba," Murphy said, flopping down on the mattress in her apartment.

"Don't even," Serenity started, "We're just-"

"Going on a date?" Murphy grinned. "I so called this."

"Murphy," Serenity said sternly, "You are wildly exaggerating this. You know that's not true. I don't even _like _him."

The curly-haired girl smirked at her. Serenity had been hesitant to even tell Murphy about it. But, considering it meant nothing, she decided there wouldn't be a problem. "Yeah, I bet. You just happen to be going to a- what are you two doing again?"

"It's nothing," Serenity insisted.

Murphy was quiet for a while. She flipped over to her stomach her face on her pillow. The two had taken to coming to apartment 44 for an hour or so after work. Murphy insisted on changing out of work clothes and Serenity just liked the company (usually) as Joey and Mai were both working at this time. "If you got pregnant, who would you chose to the godfather of your illegitimate bastard child?" Murphy casually asked after flipping back over to her back. She blew her untamable hair out of her face. You would think Serenity would be used to her random questions. She wasn't.

Serenity blinked. "What? I don't- Oh God are you pregnant?"

Murphy rolled her eyes. "Of course not. I haven't had sex in, like, two weeks."

Serenity frowned. "…And?"

"And what? I haven't had-"

"Yeah, two weeks, I get it. But, Murphy, have you thought about maybe, you know. Checking?"

"Checking for what?" The brunette asked, rearranging the pillows behind her back. Serenity stared at her. Murphy would often play dumb or be purposely act difficult in situations she felt uncomfortable in, but Serenity had an odd feeling like this wasn't one of those times. "Pregnancy. Have you taken a test lately?"

Murphy yawned, stretching her hands above her head. "What do you mean test? Don't you just kind of know?" She pulled a bottle of wine up from the floor, but Serenity quickly took it from her hands. "I need you to be completely honest with me, Murphy. Have you, or have you not, taken a test in the last month or so?"

Murphy scowled, her brown eyes fixed on the bottle in Serenity's hands. "I don't even know what you're taking about."

Serenity's jaw fell slightly. "You've never heard of-

"Well, of course I've _heard _of them. But they don't really exist," Murphy said with aggravation, as if this were common knowledge, "They're like some sci-fi thing, right? Like tasers and breathalyzers and pedometers." Murphy gave a shudder at the thought of the first two.

"Murphy, all those things you just mentioned are real!" Serenity groaned.

Murphy dropped the piece of bread she was about to take a bite out of. "Are you serious? Breathalyzers exist? I thought that they were just some scary thing people parents told their children so they wouldn't drink before they turned twelve!"

"No, I'm not. I really, really, wish I was, but I'm not." Serenity stood up from the bed and started pacing around the room. "Okay, well. First things first we'll need to- Wait. How could you not think pregnancy tests are real? We watched _Juno _together, like, four days ago!"

"Well, yeah, but… Is that what that stick thing she pissed all over? Well, that explains a lot. I thought it was just some weird hipster fad. Fucking hipsters." She added with a scowl. "I hate hipsters. Like, a lot. I used to date one. Little scumbag he-"

Serenity ignored her. "We need to go to the drugstore, there's one-"

"Okay, stop," Murphy said while shaking her head. "I know for a fact that they don't sell drugs at stores. I know that kind of thing, all right, I _know. _I tried when I was, like, thirteen. You can't just buy weed, not even from farmers. And even if you could, if I get myself knocked up, which I didn't, I think smoking is frowned upon when you've got a kid in your stomach."

For a second Serenity felt like explaining, but didn't. Murphy, who was far more experienced in some ways than Serenity, was painfully naïve to things that went on outside her own little world. In her own way, she was twice as sheltered as Serenity ever had been.

"Come on," Serenity sighed, walking to the door of the apartment, "we better go now."

The two girls walked a little ways down the street, turning into a grungy-looking pharmacy. Serenity walked up to the counter and pulled a pregnancy test from a small box. She paid for it, then handed it to Murphy, who spun the box in her hands, a look of awe on her face. "It's so weird. I always thought these things were some sort of novelty gift."

"Not quite," Serenity said dryly. She grabbed the restroom key from the cashier, and also handed it to Murphy, who sauntered off to the back. Serenity shook her head. They were doomed.

"First timers?" The cashier asked as he loaded cigarettes into the shelves behind the counter. Serenity didn't know how to reply, so she merely nodded. The cashier chuckled darkly, "Well, good luck." Serenity felt a shiver run down her spine. They were going to need it.

"THAT'S RIGHT!" A few minutes later Serenity heard a voice yell from the bathroom, and instantly she felt her entire body relax. "Look, Serenity! I'm safe, see, it's even got the little red "x" and everything." Serenity felt her stomach drop.

"What?" She cried, rushing beside her friend.

"See, "x", as in no. Not pregnant." Murphy smirked, "I told you I would know if there was a baby inside me."

"Oh my God. Oh, shit. Murphy, that's a plus sign. As in positive." Murphy stared blankly at her. Serenity groaned once more. "As in _pregnant._"

There was a long pause. Murphy turned to the cashier, who was smirking as he leaned across the cabinet to stare at the plus sign. "Is she right? Is there a little thing with fingernails inside me?"

A spiteful smile crept the corner on his lips. "I hear there's a great maternity shop down the road," he said nastily.

Murphy's face paled. "Oh my God, I'm going to get fat." She walked across the floor and out of the door before Serenity could say a word to her. Not after throwing a nasty glare towards the wicked cashier did she go after Murphy.

Serenity found her sitting against the building, her brown eyes staring straight ahead into the street. She sat down beside Murphy, pulling her legs to her chin and resting her head on her knees. "I'm pregnant," Murphy breathed, taking a shuddery breath.

"It'll be okay," Serenity said, placing a hand on Murphy's shoulder, though she too was feeling a bit queasy. "Everything will work out."

"Will you do something for me?" Murphy asked, tearing her eyes away from the traffic to stare at Serenity.

Serenity nodded. "Of course."

"Don't tell Seto."

Serenity paused. "I won't," she agreed, "I know that's something between you two."

Murphy's teeth sunk into her lower lip. "I'm not going to tell him." She said finally. "I can't."

"But how? He's going to find out eventually. I mean, you know, once you're-"

"I know," Murphy said quickly, "I know that, but… I think I may leave. Before I get that far along."

"Leave?" Serenity asked, "But where would you go? Murphy, you can't do that! Look, I know it'll be hard, but Seto-"

"Isn't a miracle worker. There's nothing he can do." A heavy silence followed Murphy's words. Both girls say on the sidewalk, no words forming on their lips, each thinking only of the months to come.

* * *

"This is it? This is what you made all that fuss about." Seto and Serenity stood on the outskirts of the football field, watching as Randolph Hayes scored another goal, and the students huddled together on the metal bleachers cheered. Serenity was vaguely aware of the stares the two had, and still were, receiving, but she hardly cared. She wished she could focus on her and Seto and the game, but her mind was firmly planted on Murphy and her condition. "Wheeler?"

Serenity blinked, and then shifted her gaze back to Seto. "I'm sorry," She said honestly, "I'm distracted."

"I can tell," Seto muttered. He shoved his hands in his pockets. "All right. I'm here. Will you and Murphy stop pestering me about my high school career now?" Serenity smiled weakly. Seto frowned, his blue eyes studying her. "Murphy told me," he said finally. Serenity felt her chest tighten. She looked up to Seto face, but his head was turned away from her. "I know it might see like we… An employee boss relationship-"

"Oh!" Serenity said. Relief flooded her. Murphy and Seto's past. "That. Well, yeah, I'm not going to lie, I really thought it was weird at first." She admitted, "I couldn't even picture it, but it was a long time ago, right?" This was what Serenity told herself every time she started to think about what Murphy had told her. It was a long time ago. Things happen, people change. They had too, because there was no way current Murphy and Kaiba would have anything to do with each other. Not in that aspect.

Kaiba stared at her. His lips moved, but no words out, until, finally, he told her, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Serenity frowned. "Then- then what are _you _talking about?"

"I'm talking about," Seto paused, and Serenity could swear she saw him squirm uncomfortably, "well, us."

"Oh. Oh! I- I didn't think there was an us." Serenity said, frowning. She stared Seto, not knowing what to say.

"Of course there's not!" The CEO said quickly, loosing his usual composure. "That's what I was getting at. Murphy said-"

"I don't know what Murphy said," Serenity interrupted, "but I know what we are. I don't- I don't-" Serenity let her sentence drop. She didn't know where to go from there.

"Well, what? What are we? Why did you ask me to come here in the first place?" Seto asked, almost angry, "How do you think of me, Serenity?" He was staring at her, scowling, his eyes narrowed, but he definitely wasn't hurt. There was no sadness in the blue orbs. Serenity tried to reply. She opened her mouth and tried to force words to come out, but nothing would. Seto sighed. "I didn't mean to raise me voice at you. I don't like uncertainty. I just want to know where we stand."

Serenity thought for a minute before answering. "We could be friends," She suggested hesitantly. Even without counting Seto's personality in general, there were several reasons why being friends with Seto wasn't a good option. For one, there was Joey, though it had been months since he'd gone on a Kaiba rant. Whenever Serenity used to mention work her brother would scowl and mutter insult towards the CEO under his breath, but over time that had stopped. Now it was just a simple eye roll. Serenity highly doubted Joey would ever stop hating Kaiba, though. And she doubted he'd like the idea of them officially being friends, not that she would plan to tell him as if necessary.

There was also the matter of Murphy. She claimed that she no longer had feelings for Seto, and she seemed to act the part, but would Murphy be okay with it? It was hard to gauge the girl's reaction to anything. But should it even matter to Serenity? She could be friends with anyone she wanted to be… Right?

Seto frowned. He stuffed his hands into the pocket of his trench coat and turned his head away from her. Serenity felt her face heat. She hadn't even gone as far as to think Seto might reject her offer. His navy eyes flicked over to her only for a second. "I don't believe that's the best option."

For a moment Serenity stood frozen, her humiliation only growing. She looked to Seto, but he said nothing. Apparently having nothing more to say to her, the CEO turned on his heel, but before she could stop herself, Serenity called after him, "Well, you know, Kaiba, why did _you _come here?" The boy stopped. "I'm not surprised Murphy's not telling you- you're completely unstable! How could she predict you're reaction?" The minute she said it, Serenity regretted it. The words had flown out of her mouth before she'd realized what she was saying. She quickly raised her hand to her mouth, her brown eyes wide.

"What is Murphy not telling me?" Seto demanded, his eyes sharpening.

"Nothing," Serenity said quickly. She took a step back, hearing a stick snap under her foot as she did so. She couldn't tell him. Even if that glare was the most intimidating thing Serenity had ever witnessed- and it was- she couldn't repeat what she'd learned earlier that day. She couldn't! "I- I-"

Seto took a step closer. His eyes were narrowed and cold, his shoulders pushed back, pulling himself to full height. "Murphy told me about you two," She blurted. Serenity paused. Yes, it was better this get out. "When you were younger. That you two, um, thought about dating. A bit. It just kind of slipped."

Seto's shoulders relaxed ever so slightly. "Right. Well. That was-"

"A long time ago," Serenity finished. "I know."

There was a small, tense silence. "We should go," said Seto tersely.

Serenity nodded and followed him back to the car.

The ride back to the Kaiba mansion seemed the longest Serenity had ever experienced. All car rides with Seto were silent, but this one seemed especially quiet. _I'll just go in, get my books, and call a cab. _

Serenity followed her boss into the mansion. They walked into the den and as quick as possible Serenity grabbed her school bag and was about to turn out the door when she heard a voice call, "Seto, I have to tell you something before I punk out and- just stay down there!" She heard Murphy trample down the staircase, cringing with every step she took. Serenity knew she needed to get out of there before Murphy yanked the lid off of Pandora's box.

"Wheeler," Kaiba said before she could creep out, "You're still within working hours. I haven't dismissed you."

Serenity, bag slung over her shoulder, turned around to face Seto, her eyes hardening. "And I need to leave. I have a paper I have to finish by tomorrow."

"You will stay until I tell you otherwise," Seto growled as he glared at her. It was like they had gone back in time, back when Seto used to bully her around the office, back when she was nothing but his coffee runner. Back when she was afraid of him. Serenity stood up straighter. That time had passed.

"Seto! I- oh, hey, Serenity. I didn't know you were coming back." Murphy shifted her weight from foot to foot, her eyes flicking between Serenity and Seto. This was one of the only times she'd ever truly seen Murphy nervous.

"Don't waste you breath," Seto said before Serenity could reply, "Wheeler already told me."

Murphy turned to Serenity. "What? But- you-you promised! I thought-"

"No, Murphy-" Serenity started, shaking her head, but Murphy had turned away from her. "Well?" She demanded, turning to Seto. Even with only one word, Serenity could hear the quiver in Murphy's voice.

"Well, it's not exactly surprising," Seto replied, "and it's not like I didn't see it commig eventually." Murphy took a breath.

"Wow, Seto. Thanks."

Serenity tried again to interject, but Murphy continued, "So are you... angry, at all?"

Seto scowled. "I don't care. Why the fuck would I care?"

For the first time Serenity recalled, hurt shone through Murphy's brown eyes. She folded her arms over her chest, her gaze shifting to the ground. Murphy was crumbling, right there in front of them both. Her forever-sturdy foundation was finally starting to shake.

"I'm sorry I, uh, let it slip, Murphy-" Here Serenity was sent a vicious glare, but before Murphy could interrupt, Serenity continued, "-about what you told you _the other night_. You know, that _night _in your apartment. A _few months ago_!"

Murphy shook her head, "Look, I'm having quite possibly the most screwed up day of my life and- and-"

"It doesn't matter, Murphy," Seto snarled, "Would you drop the subject? The fact that you would bring it up to her is one thing, but to drag it out as you do-"

"Bring it up to her? Drag it out? What the hell are you talking about? This is kind of a big deal! A very big deal!" Murphy cried, "I thought you'd be more-"

"More what, Murphy?" Seto asked in exasperation.

"Well- well, the kid! I thought, since-"

"What kid? Mokuba?" Seto asked with an eye roll, "Now you're just being ridiculous."

There was a long pause. Murphy caught Serenity's eye. "Seto, what are you talking about?"

Seto stopped. His vicious scowl disappeared. "What are _you _talking about?"

For almost a full minute there was silence. Murphy took a breath. "I'm pregnant."

Seto's jaw fell a fraction of an inch. He dropped his briefcase on the ground where it landed with a dull "thud." "Are you-"

"I took a test today, but apparently I'm supposed to go to the doctor." Murphy replied. Seto nodded, dumbstruck. "I'm going to go…I don't know. Eat, probably, because I can't drink anymore." The brunette turned on her heel and strode out of the room, her footsteps echoing down the hallway as she left.

Neither of the two said anything for a long while. Seto stood as if frozen, not moving to his usual spot in the black armchair, or at all. Serenity wasn't sure whether to leave or not. She desperately wanted to. "I suppose I should take you home." Seto said finally, pulling his head up to look at her.

"I can call a taxi," Serenity said. If it came out cold she hadn't meant it to, but she'd never in her life been so ready to leave the Kaiba mansion.

Seto, as usual, ignored her. She followed him through the hallway and out the front door to the circle drive.

It wasn't until Seto ha pulled out of the driveway and was down the road did he speak. "I'm sorry."

Serenity turned to him in surprise. "For what?" She asked. She had no idea what he'd said Kaiba would deem worthy of an apology.

"For," Seto stopped. He seemed to be struggling, but then he sighed. "For being as asshole, I suppose." His brows were crinkled slightly, as if he himself couldn't believe what he'd said. His mild embarrassment was obvious. Serenity thought in the back of her mind that she should relish it, but knew that she had other things to concentrate on.

"You're not an asshole, Seto." And, despite what she'd said in the past, and as much as she couldn't stand him at times, she felt it was true.

Seto raised an eyebrow. "Really?" He asked flatly, not sounding surprised exactly, but more as if he were doubtful.

"I mean it. You're just controlling… and a bit egotistic. Sometimes." So maybe that was a _bit _of an oversimplification, but it would work for the time being.

Seto smirked slightly. "Egotistic, hm?"

Serenity couldn't help but smile slightly. "Tell me you haven't heard that one before and I'll know you're lying," she warned.

"Oh no, I've heard it, just not mentioned so casually." Seto replied. His smile faded quickly, however, and Serenity knew instantly what his mind had wondered to.

"I think it'll be okay," Serenity said softly. Seto only nodded. He looked as if was about to say something, but didn't. Serenity didn't know what else to say on the subject. The idea of a baby was scary. The idea of this baby belonging to someone like Murphy made it three times more so.

"I don't know if she can- She's not very-" Seto started, but his sentence broke off, and Seto only shook his head.

"I think she'll surprise us," Serenity told him. She wanted dearly to believe this was true.

Seto cleared his throat. "I think… I, if I may, need to contract a statement I made earlier today." Seto told her, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"Oh?"

"Yes. I know I said that a friendship between the two of us would be unwise- and I still support that- but given the circumstances at hand I feel that you and I will need to- to ally ourselves with one another given the high stress levels that we will most likely endure in the upcoming-"

"Yes," Serenity interrupted, "we'll be friends."

"I've never been particularly good at friendships," the CEO warned.

Serenity shrugged. "We'll manage."

Seto sighed and nodded. He dropped Serenity off in front of her building and drove off, not saying a word more. Serenity quickly ran up the stairs to the apartment, feeling relief flood her. It was odd how the two main aspects of her life had swapped. Work, however hellish it was, used to be her constant, an escape from the turmoil of her friends and family. But now the small apartment with Joey and Mai was her hideout from Seto and Murphy and whatever big-kid problems they were dealing with at the moment Serenity shouldn't be apart of, but always was. She felt the first genuine smile of the day form on her lips as she walked through the door, seeing Mai in the kitchen, trying to learn to cook, and Joey on the couch, secretly ordering pizza online. She could hardy believe that _they _used to be the ones Serenity thought were stressful. Serenity shook her head. If only things had remained that simple.

A/N This chapter and I are not friends. Writing this was basically Start/ Get Halfway Through/ Delete/ Repeat. I hope you guys liked it, to be quite honest I have no idea what the reactions to this will be, but that's part of it! Thank you so very much to **MustLoveTakuya, sleepy dreamer 9, Havelock Vetinari, Black Licorice Addict, Hikarisakurariver, RoadsNotTaken, and chocolatah **for your reviews! They never fail to make my day. I know things are a little crazy in the story right now, but never fear, I promise I have a plan. And sorry about my always insanely long author's notes. I should learn to control that. Thank you so much for reading, and please review!


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: Nothing recocgnizeable belongs to me. Yay.

Though Serenity was usually on her way out the door the minute the clock on her computer turned to five-thirty, that night she stayed late finishing some things that Murphy, who'd gone home saying she "felt like death," had left undone. It definitely was odd being at Kaiba Corp so late, knowing that, save for a handful of guards, her and Seto were the only ones left in the building. The only sound that could be heard as Serenity continued to file paper after paper into the grey filing cabinets that stretched from wall to wall was the sound of Seto's keyboard clicks. The CEO had been right when he'd said that things would quickly be getting stressful. Times were always tense at the office and anytime she was at the Kaiba mansion the air was heavy and she felt like she was intruding on something she shouldn't be. The brunette stood up and stretched her arms over her head. As stressful as things had gotten, Serenity was surprised at how much Seto was truly trying to be, if not always friendly, at least civil.

Serenity walked over to the sink area across from the bathrooms, and started fixing a glass of tea. After putting as little additives in as possible, she walked to Seto's office.

"…Yes, yes, I'm aware… Again, I-" Seto's fingers squeezed his temples, and his eyes were tightly shut. Instead of setting the cup down on his desk and leaving as she usually did, Serenity waited. "That may not be as beneficial as-" Seto's face paled. "I'm- yes, if you insist. Listen-" A small tinge of pink flashed over Seto's face. Serenity raised an eyebrow, now very curious about the CEO's conversation. "Yes, of course." Seto hung up the phone and groaned.

"Here, I was thinking and Murphy's right, you really are at a high risk of caffeine addiction, so I switched you over to tea for a little while. Kind of like a detox." She handed the steaming mug to him, watching with slight amusement as Seto's nose wrinkled in disgust. "Is this really necessary?" he asked, swirling the contents of the mug around, as if trying to decide if the liquid was actually drinkable.

"Yes," Serenity replied firmly. She pulled the chair against the wall to in font of Seto's desk and sat down. "Who was that you were you talking to?" She asked, pulling her knees to her chin and watching as Seto turned back to his computer.

"No one," the boy replied coolly, out of habit he picked the mug beside him up, but before raising it to his lips, scowled and sat it almost forcibly back down on the table. Serenity smirked slightly.

"That only makes me want to know more," she told him honestly. Seto's eyes flicked to her and he scowled. "Don't push me," he warned in a tone that Serenity knew was meant to be taken seriously, but only made the girl grin.

"Was it someone important?" Serenity asked.

"Why would you think that?" the CEO replied.

"Because it's the first time I have ever in my life seen you blush, and I don't think just anybody could do that."

Seto scowled at her. "I did _not- _that is speculation! And- God, where are those damn-" the CEO then continued to mutter to himself while pulling open any drawer in sight.

"Was it a girl?" Serenity asked. She hadn't meant for it to sound mocking, but the glare she received told her it had anyway. "I'm just curious," She said quickly.

"Fine," Seto sighed, straightening up in his seat, "I was talking to Lila."

At first Serenity had no idea who he was talking about. "Oh! Murphy's Anti-Christ sister? Why?"

Seto rolled his eyes. "She's not the Anti-Christ, that girl is so overdramatic."

"I don't know," Serenity replied as Seto continued to search the office, "She sounded like a terror to me."

"Oh she is," Seto replied with a slight frown as he opened a safe behind a framed document, "Lila is… well, she can be rather difficult at times." Serenity was too intrigued with the fact that there was a hidden safe in the room (and the fact that Seto had just exposed it to her) to listen to what Murphy's sister was like. Seto sighed and sat back down. "They must be back at the house," he muttered.

"Drink your tea, it's good, I promise." Serenity said, half just to pester him. She was starting to see why Murphy made such a sport of it. It really was quite entertaining.

Seto rolled his eyes. He took a quick sip of the tea, and then quickly put the mug down. "Satisfied?" He asked coolly.

Serenity shrugged. "I'm getting there."

"You can leave," Seto told her, though he didn't mean in an aggressive way as he once might have.

"Thanks, but Mai's trying to cook again tonight, so if it's alright I thought I'd stay long enough that I'll be able to just make a sandwich when I get home."

Seto nodded. "Would you mind telling Harvey we'll be staying another hour or so? Apparently his daughter ran off with his cell phone again."

"Sure." The brunette strode out of the office and down to the elevator. She walked out to the main hall, but Harvey wasn't at his usual spot by the front desk. Frowning slightly, Serenity pushed her way out of the revolving door. She paused, looking up and down the sidewalk, but didn't notice anyone until she heard someone step out from behind her. Serenity jumped slightly and took a step back from him. The boy laughed, "Didn't mean to scare you, Serenity."

Serenity frowned. "Do I know you?" she asked, backing towards the door.

"Calm down, you're fine," Whoever it was said, a laughing tone to his voice. He stepped into light and Serenity instantly recognized him as the boy she used to always see Bex hanging around with. He gave her an odd, wolfish grin. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"It's fine," Serenity replied. She glanced around, looking for Bex, but the dark-haired girl was nowhere to be seen.

"Don't worry," The boy said, noting whom Serenity must have been looking for, "she's not here. She's pretty fickle, but I guess you and your little pal already know that."

"I wasn't worried," Serenity told him. He must have been talking about Murphy, Serenity had decided, she remembered that the two didn't get along. Serenity stopped. She knew they didn't get along… but why? She thought back to everything Murphy had told her. Seto liked Bex, but nothing happened, and then Murphy liked Seto, but nothing happened. That didn't add up. Why would Murphy and Bex hate each other, their practically nonexistent relationships with Seto both been one sided in some way or another, and not to mention they had been years apart.

"I don't understand," Serenity said finally, "Why do they hate each other?"

"Well, hate's not really the right word, is it?" The blonde said, obviously enjoying himself.

Serenity frowned. "Who are you talking about?" She demanded.

"Me?" the boy laughed, "Who do you think?" He jerked his thumb to the Kaiba Corp. building. "Mr. CEO up there, who else does anyone talk about?" he asked, a trace of bitterness in his voice.

Serenity frowned. This wasn't making sense. Either there was something Murphy had left out, as she'd suspected, or there was something that both girls didn't know about.

"Alright, alright, don't get upset." the blonde said, "It's not their faults. Everybody's got a cashmere lining."

Serenity frowned. "A what?"

"You know, a cashmere lining." Serenity stared. The boy sighed. "It's like when you get those awful leather gloves for winter. They cost too much, they're impractical, they just downright make you look bad, but as soon as your hand slides in and feels that cashmere, you've got to have them. People are like that too. No matter how wrong a person is for you, once they start being a tiny bit soft and warm towards you, you feel like they're yours. That you've got to have them forever."

"I- how does this relate to me? Or Kaiba, or Bex?"

The boy only grinned. "My name's Angelus, by the way. I'll probably be seeing you around." With that the blonde gave her one last grin, and then he was off, disappearing down the sidewalk as quietly as he had come.

Serenity turned slowly back towards the building, her brow crinkled in confusion. Who was that boy? Who was Angelus? Why was he hanging around Kaiba Corp? What was going on between him and Bex? And, most importantly, Serenity thought, looking up at the building before her, what, if anything, was going on between Bex and Seto?

She walked inside, her cheery disposition from earlier gone.

"Did you talk to Harvey?" Seto asked once she'd gotten into his office.

"He's gone already," the girl replied shortly. "Who's Angelus?"

Seto sighed. "I knew I should have sent you earlier." The boy didn't look away from his computer.

"Seto?" Serenity asked.

"Hn," The CEO grunted.

"Do you know who Angelus is?"

The CEO finally looked towards Serenity. "Do you have a last name?"

Serenity shook her head. "He was outside the building… He seems to know you," she added hesitantly.

Seto rolled his eyes. "Let's be honest, Wheeler, there are very many people in this city know who I am. And you shouldn't have been hanging around outside after dark, especially with Harvey and the rest of them gone." Seto chided.

Serenity sighed. Somehow, for some reason, Seto was in a relatively good mood, though you could only tell if you'd known him for a while. She didn't want to bring up Bex, especially if they too had some sort of twisted story behind them. Serenity wasn't sure she could take that.

"What did Lila say?" she asked instead.

Seto's typing slowed. "Well, obviously she wants to see Murphy. She has for a while, but we've been avoiding her a bit." Understatement, Serenity decided, huge understatement.

"Is that why she was yelling at you?" Serenity asked, and as Seto scowled at her question, the usual lines of agitation appearing on her forehead, Serenity could feel herself start to forget about Angelus and his words.

"No. And she wasn't _yelling_, she was speaking strongly, which she does to everyone." Seto said, obviously attempting to defend his pride.

"It's okay," Serenity told him, "I won't tell anyone that you were yelled at."

"Stop it," Seto growled. Serenity smiled.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

Seto sighed loudly. "Nothing."

"It is important?"

Seto glared at her. "We are not going through this all over again."

The girl stood up. Much to Seto's dismay, she walked behind his desk. "What are you doing?" he demanded. "I didn't say you could-"

But before he could minimize the window, Serenity found what he'd been looking at, and instantly, Serenity felt guilty. "It's a little early for that, don't you think?" She asked, now feeling uncomfortable. Baby cribs. She should have known. Why else would he be so secretive?

Seto didn't reply. "You're allowed to care, you know," Serenity said. "You two have known each other for-"

"Of course I care!" Seto snapped, "How could I not. It's-" Seto took a breath and shook his head.

"It's what?" Serenity asked, suddenly alert, "What is it?" Seto didn't reply, but only ran his hand through his hair, his eyes closed. "Is it yours?" she finally whispered. For some reason, Serenity could feel her stomach drop. Surely not. Because Murphy and Seto, they hadn't- there was no way they would have-

"I don't know," Seto replied. He looked at her, his eyes wide. "I have no idea. I can't bring myself to- there's no way I can-" Seto shook his head, then buried in his hands.

"But- but that would mean- if it might be- you and Murphy…" Serenity stared at the CEO, unable to finish her sentence.

Seto kept his face hidden. "Seto…" Serenity couldn't decide which emotion to land on. Anger, shock, hurt, disgust.

"I didn't think that- I never even considered…"

Serenity stared at Seto. She didn't know what to say to him and she didn't want to try and figure something out. Without a word, she turned and stared walking out of them room.

"Wheeler-"

"No!" Serenity spun back around. "How could you? You know how she is! I can't believe you would give her hope like that! I don't even care that she's- well, I do. But even if it's _not _yours, the fact that you would-"

"You honestly think all of those things haven't passed through my mind at some point?" Seto snarled. "Do you think I don't feel guilty about them _every fucking day_? That I don't know how awful I am?" Seto turned away from her, his chest rising and falling rapidly.

"I do now." Serenity replied, her voice wavering slightly. Again, she turned to walk out of the room, half expecting Seto to stop her, but he didn't. Grabbing her bag on her way out, Serenity walked to the elevator. At that moment, she hated Seto. For leading Murphy on as he did, of course, but was there something else. Was she possible… jealous? Serenity scowled at herself. She was sick. No, she was just tired. She knew that under no circumstances she would ever want to deal with what Murphy was going through.

_But you want him to want you. _A voice inside her head told her. Serenity shook her head forcibly. No, she didn't! They were friends. Wait. Were they still friends? _Well that lasted long. _

Serenity called a cab and drove to Murphy's apartment, her go-to place when she had nowhere to be. "Murphy?" Serenity called.

"In here," the girl stepped out of the kitchen. "I'm cleaning out all the stuff I can't have anymore."

"Feeling better?" Serenity asked. She sat down on the mattress as usual, pulling her knees to her chin.

Murphy shrugged. "I've been worse." She eyed Serenity with a frown. "You don't seem right."

Serenity paused. "Well…"

Murphy raised and eye brown and gave Serenity an almost amused half-grin. "Should I get comfortable? You have should spent a full day with Seto."

Serenity didn't reply, but her eyes flicked to the floor.

"Oh shit, Ren, I was kidding. What happened? I thought you two had some sort of weird truce going on."

"You mean we were friends?" Serenity sighed. Murphy shrugged.

"If that's what you want to call it. Now, what happened?"

Serenity looked up and Murphy, unsure how to continue. "Well, it was sort of about you."

Murphy smirked. "Aren't they all?"

"I'm serious, Murphy," Serenity said, sitting up. "I- he thinks- well, it came up that you…" Murphy only stared at her. She obviously wasn't going to help her out. "That you two slept together, you know, recently," she finally finished. She'd expected Murphy's gaze to fall, or her to look away, any signs of sadness or uncertainty, but Murphy just kept looking as her, as if expecting Serenity to say more.

"Yeah? And?" Serenity stared at her, not knowing what to say. Murphy sighed. "Look, it happens. I was drunk, he was drunk, and you know how it goes. Drunk-me always thinks sex with Seto is a good idea. And drunk-Seto, when he comes out, usually agrees." Murphy shrugged. "Shit happens." She paused then grinned. "By the way, you _have _to see Seto drunk. It's great. He's such a sloppy drunk. It takes a while to get him there, he's no lightweight, but to be honest, drunk-Seto can be fun. As long as he doesn't get into drunk-asshole-Seto, then you're just kind of ready for him to pass out and piss himself all ready."

"But- but-" Serenity frowned. Shouldn't Murphy be devastated? Hurt? Angry? Anything _but _nonchalant!

As is reading her mind, the brunette sighed and continued, "I guess it kind of hurt the first time, but, you know, stuff happens. People make mistakes."

"But Seto said- he was acting like-"

Murphy rolled her eyes. "Ignore him. That's the weird thing about Seto. Some things, things that will really get you, he won't give a shit about, but others he totally obsesses over. Like that, he has a total guilty conscious about it. Personally, I think it's his mind punishing him for all the super models he's led on," Murphy mused. She noticed Serenity face and frowned. "What?"

"I completely bitched him out about that, I thought that you- Oh God. I didn't think about that…" She'd heard Murphy say before that Seto was prone to guilt. Still, what Seto had done made Serenity shift uneasily. But Murphy didn't care. She took half the blame herself. "Should I, you know… apologize?" Serenity asked hesitantly.

Murphy thought for a minute. "If you're into that kind of thing. He may appreciate it. Or he may blow you off. You never really know with him, do you?"

"Right." Serenity stood up. "I'll talk to you later, okay?"

Murphy nodded. "Have fun," she called as she walked back to the kitchen. "And do try to get him drunk while you're there. Trust me, it's worth it."

Serenity rolled her eyes but smiled. "I'll work on it."

* * *

Serenity jogged up the steps of the Kaiba mansion, her teeth chattering lightly. It was late October. She should have a jacket to wear by now, just another thing to add to her to-do list.

She knocked on the door, bouncing up and down on her toes to keep warm, when a young maid Serenity didn't recognize opened the door. She was pretty with long blonde hair and olive green eyes. The girl tipped her head to the side, as if studying her. "Um, do you mind if I come in?" Serenity wondered vaguely why she hadn't met the girl before, she knew most of Seto's staff, but was more concerned with getting into the heat.

"Funny," mumbled, still staring at Serenity. She stepped aside and let her in, still staring.

"Is something wrong?" Serenity asked uneasily.

"Oh no," the girl said quickly. "I'm sorry, I'm usually in the laundry room, so I never get to answer the door, but everyone talks about the girls Mr. Kaiba calls for. I always pictured you taller…" Serenity wasn't sure what to say, but she could definitely feel herself going red.

"No, no, Set- uh, Mr. Kaiba and I are just friends," Serenity explained hastily.

The blonde frowned slightly. "Do they always allow you to have personal relationships with your clients?" Serenity felt her mouth drop slightly. "Oh, that was too much, wasn't it? Do excuse me, I should get back to work anyways…" With that the blonde drifted down the hallway and out of sight. Serenity stared after her.

"Wheeler?"

Serenity could see Seto standing in the doorway from the corner of her eye. "I just got mistaken for a prostitute," she told him. The brunette turned to face the boy. "That has never happened to me before."

Seto only replied, "That was Flora. She's a bit… spacey. I don't think she always realizes what she says"

"She's pretty," was all that Serenity could think to say. Did she really look like a hooker? "Is she, um, all there?"

Seto paused. "I can't say. She's Roland's granddaughter, only fifteen."

Serenity was about to say something more on the topic, but then she stopped, remembering why she was there. "Seto, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have said those things to you. I just assumed that Murphy was- I don't know. But I really am sorry." She watched for the CEO's reaction, but he gave none. "I still want to be friends," she added.

There was a long pause. "I forgive you." The he turned around, placing his hand on the door as if he were about to leave. "Seto," Serenity called. "I mean it. I really am sorry."

Seto paused again, and then turned around. He seemed to be debating something. "Would you like to stay for a little while?" He finally asked.

Serenity nodded "That would be-"

But just then there was a small but firm two knocks on the door behind. Seto and Serenity both frowned. The only person who would be coming over this late was Murphy, and she would have absolutely no problem busting the door as if she owned the place.

Hesitantly, Seto walked to the front door and opened it.

"Lila." Seto instantly took a step back from the door. "I didn't know you'd be coming in-"

A girl of medium height with silky dark hair vivid amber eyes stepped through the door, glaring viciously at Seto. She was well dressed, a pure white, spotless pea coat, black opaque tights, black heels, and a thick green scarf around her neck. "Well, of course I am. My little sister's been knocked up, I obviously can't trust you to make sure this goes the was it should, now can I?" Lila told him coolly. She turned to Serenity and bluntly looked her up and down. "Well, now I understand." She said with edge to her voice. "You've obviously been distracted."

She turned to Seto and raised an eyebrow. "Where's Murphy? Or do you prefer one at a time now?"

Serenity saw Seto's eyes flash momentarily, but he replied evenly, "Murphy is at her own apartment. She doesn't stay here anymore."

"Oh yes," the girl replied sarcastically, "because that seems to be working out just _wonderfully_, doesn't it?" She waved over a maid who ha been hurrying across the foyer, eyes down, and handed her the Louis Vuitton suitcase in her hand. "The presidential suite at the Four Seasons was full." She explained, her tone still icy cold.

"Murphy's old suite, Delia," Seto said quickly. The girl nodded and shuffled off.

Serenity, realizing something this for the first time, wondered why all of Seto's maids were relatively young girls. At a time when Murphy's sister wasn't yelling at him, Serenity made a mental note to ask him about this.

"We have much we have to discuss, Seto, but I'm in no mood for conversation. We'll talk tomorrow." And then the girl followed Delia, not looking back.

Seto stared after her. "I need alcohol." He walked to the door, and then stopped. "Well, are you coming or not?" he asked, not turning around.

Serenity nodded, but then remembered he couldn't see her. "Yes," she replied, and followed him out of the room.

"You know, Murphy told me about fifteen minutes ago that I should get you drunk at all costs. Wait. Maybe I shouldn't have said that, now you'll be on guard." Serenity said as the two walked into the kitchen. The first time she'd seen it Serenity had been surprised at how small and relatively out of date it was. Serenity had since then learned of the three other kitchens in the Kaiba mansion. "Shame," Seto told her. "Tonight would have been a prime opportunity."

Serenity sighed. "Well, I blew that chance." Seto rummaged though the cabinets before pulling out a bottle of champagne. Serenity raised an eyebrow. "What's the occasion?"

"Well," Seto started, sitting down in the wooden chair beside Serenity. "I thought we could celebrate our last night before World War Three starts. Murphy and Lila didn't get along before. I can't even imagine how horrendous it's going to be now."

"I think she scares you."

Seto turned to her, his eyes flat. "There has not been, nor will there ever be, a single day in my life where Murphy has even started to evoke the slightest bit of-"

"I was talking about Lila," Serenity interrupted.

Seto paused, then exhaled through his nose. "_Scare _isn't the right word. Lila is a very good businesswoman. She's managed to keep a spotless reputation, she's always kept her head above the petty things that girls tend to absorb themselves in. She never loses focus. I respect Lila. Not many people earn that."

Serenity nodded. She wondered if she would ever gain Seto's respect. She highly doubted that she already had it, but perhaps there was hope for her some day in the future. Serenity turned her head, hearing something whine and scratch at the kitchen door. "Your dog wants in," she smirked. Seto glared at her, then at the door.

"I'm not letting that thing in here," Seto replied firmly. "I don't like the idea of a dog in the kitchen. It's disgusting."

Serenity ignored him. She walked to the swinging white door and opened it, allowing Lugnut, who was no longer the little fuzz ball she remembered, to trample into the kitchen. He immediately ran over to Seto, jumped up, and put his paws on the CEO's shoulders.

"Ugh!" Seto shoved the dog off of him, wiping the dirt from the light blue striped button down. Serenity bit her lip, trying not to smile more than she already was. "Mokuba says you just don't like him because he chewed up a pair of your Gucci shoes," Serenity said, watching with amusement as Seto's face clouded.

"Yes, well, at least he didn't puke all over them," the blue-eyed boy replied with a smirk as Serenity's smile was wiped off of her face.

"You win," she admitted with a nod. "You win."

Lugnut laid his head on Seto's knee, his tail thumping on the ground. "What?" Seto demanded. "What do you want?"

"Just pet him," Serenity sighed.

Seto scowled at her. "He drools. Have I mentioned that? Saliva periodically falls from his mouth. It's disgusting."

"Pet the dog."

Seto's scowled deepened. "I just told you, he drools."

"But he likes you," Serenity protested. "Look at him! He's begging for it!"

Seto stared at Lugnut. "No."

"Do it."

"No."

"He loves you. Pet him."

"_No._"

Serenity glared at him. Seto rolled his eyes. He stuck his hand out and patted the dog twice on his head. He then stood up, walked to the sink, and proceeded to scrub his hands under the faucet. Serenity rolled her eyes. "Don't mind him, Lugnut. _I _like you."

Seto ignored her. He sat back down in his seat and took a semi large gulp of champagne. He then picked up the glass and glared at its contents. "Not strong enough for this," he muttered, and took another drink.

"Do you really think it's going to be awful between Murphy and Lila?" Serenity asked.

There was a long pause, to the point where Serenity briefly wondered if Seto was ignoring her, but then he replied, "It depends. It's going to be difficult no matter what. I've witnessed some of the fights between them and I can honestly say that I've seen very few with such cruelty. And there are some aspects that will greatly complicate things." His expression hardened, and he kept his gaze planted firmly on the table.

Hesitantly, Serenity said, "I don't think it's you." Really, it was none of her business, and she'd expected Seto to tell her this much, but instead he asked, "What makes you think that?"

"Murphy. I don't think that she think it's you," Serenity replied.

Seto sighed. "Murphy didn't even know that pregnancy tests were real, how can you even start to trust her intuition?"

"Because, if it was possible that it was you, I think she would be completely freaking out, and she's not. She's holding up well."

"I don't think it's even hit her yet. And even if she was handling it well up to this point, Lila's here. It won't last."

Serenity shrugged. "Give her a chance, Seto."

The CEO glared at her. "Give her a chance? Wheeler, I've been giving her chances for years. With Murphy it's best just to assume the worst. Your expectations are usually correct and you're never disappointed."

Serenity didn't know how to reply. She took a drink of champagne and turned her gaze the other direction.

"It's late," the girl said standing up, "I should probably go."

Seto's eyes flicked towards her. "Yes. I suppose you should. Goodnight, Wheeler."

Serenity smiled slightly at him. "Goodnight."

* * *

Well, yeah. New chapter is finished. Thanks for reading and oh yeah, you guys are _**amazing. **_Yes, so much so that I felt it necessary to bold, italicize, and underline that. But really, thank you all so much. Nine reviews make me very, very, very happy. **RoadsNotTaken, Ceann de lasair, reixanship0882, RageLikeRipred, anacsadder, chocolatah, Black Licorice Addict, sleepy dreamer 9, **and** Havelock Vetinari, **you guys rock my world.

And now for some shameless advertising: I have a new story up, also Seto/Serenity, but completely different from this one. If you have the time, it's on my profile and I would greatly appreciate it if you give it a read. It's called Allurement of Greed. Thanks :)


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I don't anything someone else already does.

"Basically, you've given me three options," Murphy started, staring at Seto, her emotions oddly well hidden. "One, I can completely flip out and start throwing things at you, as usual. Two, I can go MIA until she finally packs up leaves, or three, I can go yell and throw things at _her_. This is completely up to you, Seto. Choose wisely."

In her opinion, Serenity thought Murphy was simply saving her energy for when the unavoidable meeting of the two sisters finally occurred. The brunette wondered how long it had been since the two girls had seen each other, whether it had been months or years.

"What you're going to do," the CEO told the girl sternly, his eyes fixed upon her with a cold glare, "is handle this like an adult. I know Lila is mature enough-"

Murphy rolled her eyes. "Oh, yes. _Lovely _Lila."

Seto rapped his fingers on the desk, still staring at the curly-haired girl. He inhaled through his nose, but said nothing. Serenity could tell he was starting to lose his patience. She was surprised he was being this flexible. Usually by now the blue-eyed boy was in full out snarl mode.

"Murphy," he said steadily. Murphy raised an eyebrow. "I know you're upset that I went behind your back and contacted your sister-" Murphy snorted.

"You could say that."

"_But,"_ Seto continued, ignoring her, "I need you to try to-"

"To _what? _We haven't managed to get along for the past nineteen years of my life. Like we're going to start now."

"I'm not implying I want you to become best friends-"

"Good, 'cause it's not going to-"

Seto stood up. He turned to Serenity. "I can no longer continue this conversation without drastically losing my temper." And with that, strode out of his office.

Serenity and Murphy's eyes met. Not being able to hide the slight amusement in her voice, Serenity told her, "Now see what you've made him do."

Murphy stared after Seto. "He gets weirder and weirder every day I know him. But whatever, I'm not in the mood to deal with him anyway. At least she doesn't know where I-" Murphy paused. "Do you think he told her where my apartment is?"

Serenity shrugged. "No idea."

Murphy didn't say anything. She fiddled with a thread on her sweater, her dark eyebrows knit closely together. "You're not actually considering leaving, are you?" The only response she received was a shrug. "Murphy," Serenity groaned. "Don't-" Serenity shook her head. She wasn't sure there was really anything she could say to the brunette that would actually get into her head. "You know he's just trying to help."

Murphy scowled at her. "No. He's just trying to control me like he does everything else in his life."

Again, Serenity wasn't sure what to say. "Murphy-" Serenity sighed.

"Look," the brunette said with a trace of bitterness. "I know you two are going to have one of your little powwows about this anyways, so why don't you just go ahead and find him. We both know he's waiting for you." Serenity stared at her friend. Sure, Seto and Serenity talked, but it was always about _her. _ "He'll lose his patience if you don't hurry up," Murphy added coolly.

Face burning red, Serenity stalked out of the room. Murphy had never turned on her before, never once started to treat her the way she did Seto. Was she, perhaps, getting too close to Murphy? Serenity felt a pang of guilt for the thought.

She walked quickly to the elevator, not exactly sure where she was going. Serenity jabbed her finger to the button, but before the doors swung open, something caught her eye.

"Seto?" The CEO lifted his head from the cup of coffee he was pouring. Serenity, even under the circumstances, couldn't help but smirk. "I feel like I should take a video or something. Seto Kaiba makes his own coffee."

Seto didn't reply. "Will you take a walk with me?" Serenity asked. The CEO visibly hesitated, but then slowly nodded.

They walked, Seto in the lead as always, out of the building. He led her a ways down to the coffee place Serenity remembered once following him to. Not being able to wait, and feeling a little awkward and uncertain, she told him of what Murphy had said to her. The bartender nodded to Seto as he walked in, and to Serenity's surprise, Seto nodded back. They walked to the same table they'd sat at the last time they'd been, a night Serenity preferred not to think about. She unwrapped the scarf from around her neck and hung her coat on the chair. She looked up at Seto, who hadn't said a word since she'd finished her story as they'd walked through the door. She took his facial expression and frowned. She couldn't quite make out his emotion, which unsettled Serenity further.

Seto sighed. He ran his fingers through his hair, not saying anything. Serenity knew the conversation must make him feel uncomfortable, but who else did she have to take it to, really?

"It's unfortunate," Seto said finally. "You met Murphy when she was doing well, better than she had been in years. I suppose you could say it spoiled your perspective of her." He paused, his eyes scanning Serenity. " The two of you were brought together, not just by the proximity of your workplace, but also by mutual hatred of me." Serenity felt her face red at this, but she didn't object. "Somehow you two got along, much better than I would have expected. I wasn't worried, though. I didn't expect you to last long. Not at all, but then you did. And then all of this happened. I knew things would start backtracking when I contacted Lila. The two have always brought out the worst in each other. Like I said, I've never seen such cruelty as when they fight. But it's… almost disturbing how the very idea of seeing her sister is already thrusting Murphy so far back."

"I still don't understand." Serenity replied. "What are you trying to tell me?"

Seto shook his head. "I know what she said to you, it was nothing. Just an annoyance, something you could overlook. But you don't know Murphy. You're getting sucked into her world, and trust me when I say that's not a pretty place to be."

Before Serenity could answer, Seto phone went off from his pocket. She watched Seto for a second, but then stood up. "I should go," she mouthed. The boy nodded, only paying half attention as Serenity walked out the door.

The brunette stuffed her hands in her pockets. Seto was just overreacting, she decided. Of course he'd say things like that with things between him and Murphy were as tense as they were.

"Hey there, kid. Bad convo with the boss man?"

Serenity jumped aside. "Angelus?"

Indeed, the tall blonde boy stood before her, his olive green eyes peering down at her. "You remembered." he smirked.

"Yeah," Serenity tried to brush past him, but Angelus stopped at her.

"It looked to me that you were dismissed from your little meeting. How about you bum around with me for a while?" Serenity had already decided the night before that she didn't like Angelus. He spoke to her as if he was mocking her, and yet as if he was truly interested in what she was saying. His eyes never once let her. It confused Serenity to no end, and she hated it. "I don't even know you," she replied coolly. "How did you know I was there anyway?" Serenity asked suspiciously.

Angelus laughed. "Calm down. I'm not following you. I just happened to see you through the window. Didn't seem too happy. Is he always such a bastard?"

"Seto? No." She turned away from the blonde and started to walk away, but he reached out and grabbed her hand. "Look, I'm sorry. Workforce loyalty and all that I get it. I didn't mean to insult you."

Serenity glared at him. "Let go."

Angelus dropped her arm and raised his beside his chest. Serenity didn't smile. The green-eyed boy sighed, but the slight smirk remained. "Alright, alright, I get it. You don't trust me. I mean, I'm just some guy who hangs around some of your old pals. Why should you?"

"I'm glad you understand," Serenity said. What he'd said was an over statement. Serenity had seen him hang around Bex a few times, and he'd never seemed too friendly.

Angelus smirked at her. He watched her for a little while longer. "You remind me of someone I know, Serenity. But I won't hold it against you." And with that he bounded down the street and out of Serenity's sight.

"That was an important call, Wheeler. I had to take it." Serenity nodded, taking that as an apology, but her eyes didn't leave the receding blonde figure.

"It would be in your best interest to take what I said into consideration," Seto told her. Serenity nodded. Seto sighed and stopped, not caring that a man had to practically jump around him as he did so. "You're not listening to me." Serenity could hear the frustration in his voice. The brunette opened her mouth to tell him about her second meeting with the blonde, but for some reason stopped. He'd already said he didn't know Angelus. What interest would he have in the conversation anyway?

"I'm sorry," she replied. "I'm listening. I promise."

Serenity's eyes met Seto's. Again, she was met with the odd look her mind couldn't quite place an emotion with. "Distance yourself from her, from both of us."

"What?" Serenity asked, her brows knitting together.

"I know what it feels like before one of her shifts. If you don't start peeling yourself away from her now, you'll just be her pawn. She'll use you just like she used every other person in her life."

"I know I don't know her like you do, but Murphy's my friend, a good friend. If she did that kind if thing when she was younger, then she's-"

"Changed?" Seto asked her darkly. "People don't change."

* * *

Whether Serenity thought she should heed Seto's warning and distance herself from the Kaiba mansion and its occupancies, Serenity had left her gloves there… a few weeks ago. Really, it was necessary for her to return. She'd waited a few hours, knowing the initial showdown between the two sisters must have already passed. She waited for the door to be answered, hoping that, perhaps, Lila's suite in the Four Seasons was ready and she was already gone.

"Hey, I was wondering if you'd seen-"

"What are you doing here?" Seto demanded. Serenity blinked and stepped back.

"I- I just-"

"Did you think I was kidding?" he hissed. "Get out."

Serenity didn't know what to do. Did he not want her around anymore? They'd been getting along before. But now Seto was glaring at her, his shoulders flexed back, lips curled into a snarl. But before Serenity could reply, she heard the distinctive sound of the Kaiba's front door slamming shut. Seto visibly tensed. He raised his head to the door, his eyes alert.

From behind her, Serenity could hear light footsteps coming down the stairs. Serenity felt a chill run down back. No confrontation had happened. She was just in time to witness one.

Indeed, right as Murphy swung the door to the den open, Lila had appeared at the bottom of the stairs. Murphy dropped her bag on the ground and tossed aside her coat. Lila only glared at her sister. She walked further into the room just enough to make Murphy send a rivaling glare her way.

"Well, I can't say I'm surprised," Lila said in a cool, silky voice, stepping carefully around the room, her eyes never leaving Murphy. "This is the only move you haven't played yet. If drugs don't do the trick, a baby is sure fire way to get someone to stick around, right?"

For a brief second Murphy's eyes burned, but then she threw her head back and laughed. "And what would you know about that?" She was also pacing around the room, watching Lila. "All the bulimia in the world didn't help you out in that area, did it?"

"Not like heroin helped you," Lila snapped back. Seto shifted, his eyes darting between the two sisters. As if this alerted Lila to his presence for the first time, she added with a malicious smile, "Isn't that right, Seto?" The CEO didn't reply. His jaw was sat into a firm line, his eyes staring straight ahead. This only made Lila's lips curl up further.

"Don't." The mocking tone in Murphy's voice was gone, her face contorted into complete seriousness.

Lila sopped. She cocked out her hip and tipped her head to the side. "Well this certainly brings back memories. Funny how things change, isn't it? Does this take some getting used to, Seto? It's been a while since she's had to stick up for you-"

"I said don't!" Murphy snapped. Lila only smirked.

"What can I say, Alena? I learned from the best." Murphy didn't reply. Lila's eyebrow rose. She was obviously waiting for a retort, but got none. Lila's eyes flicked to Serenity for the first time. She started to say something, but Seto quickly called out, "Lila!" The brunette turned to him in surprise. "I-" but the boy was at loss for words. Serenity felt herself relax. She didn't want to be on the receiving end of Lila's wrath. Serenity heard a phone go off, and just like that, Lila was off, hissing at someone else over the phone, disappearing up the steps, and Murphy, with completely nonchalance, headed towards the kitchen, whining about hunger.

Serenity turned to Seto, who exhaled deeply. He didn't say anything to Serenity, or even acknowledge she was there, awkwardly standing in the corner. So this was why he's been so angry when she'd walked in. Not only had she witnessed his humiliation, but also had come close to facing some of her own.

Not feeling comfortable enough to speak to Seto, let alone sit down beside where he had, Serenity followed Murphy into the kitchen.

"So I see you met my sister," Murphy grinned. She pulled out the peanut butter from the cabinet above her. Serenity wasn't sure what to say. "Hey, do we have any grape jelly? I mean, I'll eat strawberry, but it's just not the same."

"What just happened?" Serenity demanded.

Murphy shrugged. "Lila came in town. …I can eat jelly, can't I? Because I'm not supposed to eat hotdogs or stand by the microwave, so-"

"Jelly's fine, but you and her, and-and Seto-"

Murphy sighed. "This is just how my family is, Serenity. Seto's a big boy, he can take care of himself." The brunette continued making her sandwich. She hadn't been so relaxed five minutes ago. How was she now treating the ordeal as if it were nothing? Was she really that used to it, or was Murphy a better actress than she seemed?

"But he seemed-"

"Look, Seto knew what he was signing himself up for," Murphy cut in sharply. "If he's hurt it's his own fault."

"Then why did you stand up for him?"

Murphy sat the knife she'd been spreading the jelly on her sandwich with down. "Serenity, I'm really not in the mood." She turned back to her meal, not speaking another word.

Deciding she may as well find her gloves while she was there, Serenity left the kitchen and walked up the winding marble staircase to the bedroom she stayed in whenever she, for whatever reason, spent the night. She grabbed the gloves from the vanity on the far wall, but when she turned around, realized she wasn't alone. "Lila," she jumped back. "This isn't your room, is it?" Serenity looked around, but didn't see a suitcase of any other sign of the room being occupied.

Lila walked through the door, ignoring Serenity's question. It was hard to believe that her and the girl in the kitchen were sisters. Lila was well dressed, not a loose string on her sweater on a single hair from her head out of place. She carried herself tall, though she was definitely shorter than her sister, as if she was completely aware of who she was, and what it meant to be Lila… Serenity frowned. Whatever her last name was. Serenity paused. She had no idea, which meant she had no idea what Murphy's last name was either.

"I need you to do something for me," Lila told her. Her voice wasn't friendly, but it wasn't quite as cold as it had been earlier. Serenity wasn't sure what to say. "Take these for me." She handed Serenity a stack of tapes. "I don't particularly care what you do with them. Ditch them if you want, I honestly couldn't care less, but, well, given their history it probably would be best if you kept these away from Alena and Kaiba. I wouldn't burden you with them, but put it past Alena to go through my things."

"You know about that?" Serenity asked. She'd been under the impression it was a secret.

Lila tipped her head to the side and studied Serenity. "Of course. It wasn't exactly hidden. I just don't want to arouse any old feelings between them. Especially since they're going to be apart so soon."

"Why are they going to be apart?" Serenity asked, feeling her heart rate start to quicken. She had a feeling she wasn't supposed to be hearing this.

"Did she not tell you?" Lila asked, leaning against the doorway. "Well, she never has been good with goodbyes. Usually never bothers to make them," she added with a trace of bitterness. "Murphy's going home, she decided a long time ago."

"Does- does Seto know?" Serenity asked. Surely out everybody, Murphy would have told him.

Lila paused. "That's up to you now, I guess. Thanks for taking those, by the way. Someone had to." And then she walked away, her heels clacking the entire way down the hallway.

Serenity stared at the tapes in her hands. There were no dates or titles on any of them. The girl, not sure she wanted to find out what could possibly be recorded on them, had half a mind to dump them in the trash at that second. Besides, if she decided to take them, how would she get them down stairs? If Murphy or Seto saw her they most certainly would want to know-

"Wheeler, I-"

"You have _got _to stop doing that!" Serenity exclaimed, dropping the tapes in her hands. She watched as Seto's navy eyes traveled to the floor where they lay. He was quiet, his eyes widening, and then hardening before asking in a low tone, "Where did you find these?"

"I- I didn't-"

"What did you see?" He demanded, his voice rising. "You have no right to go through my home, to take what is-"

"Seto, I-"

"Don't! You don't say a word!"

The CEO took a step towards her, his eyes almost wild. There was no way to deny or try to hide it; Serenity was scared. He was actually, truly _scaring _her. "No. _No!" _He kicked the side of the wall."You- who do you think- how dare- if you think-"

"Lila gave them to me!" Serenity squeaked, her back practically pressed to the wall. Not even having realized it, she'd instinctively thrown her arms in front of her face. Serenity felt her eyes start to fill. That was the second time that day Seto had attacked her, though the first was not near to the latter's extremity. She knew she should drop her arms, but couldn't. After a minute, she felt two warm hands slowly push them down. The brunette tried in vain to choke down a sob. When her eyes finally cleared enough to see, she lifted her chin to Seto standing before her, his face frozen in shock.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I- I-"

"Serenity," he breathed, taking a step back from her. "No. God. I-" Seto squeezed his eyes shut. For a long while, he said nothing. "This is why you can't stay here, Serenity. I shouldn't have hired you back. It was selfish of me. Very selfish." He took a long breath. "You see this? This is who we are, Serenity. I'm not a good person. Neither is Murphy. Don't get trapped in our world. We'll only bring you down." He sunk down to the end of the bed and clutched his head between hands.

Serenity wasn't sure what to do. Seto wouldn't have laid a hand on her… would he? She wanted to leave, to go back to Mai and Joey where it was sweet and simple, but her feet seemed to be glued to the ground. Serenity bent over and scooped up the tapes from the ground. Silently, she offered them to Seto.

Slowly, the CEO pulled himself up. "Those are yours," he said, his voice completely void of emotions. His shoulder rose up and down slightly.

"I don't want them," Serenity replied. She sat them down beside Seto and left the bedroom. She didn't understand why Seto would go in such a rage over a stack full of tapes. She didn't, but she knew someone who might.

"I'm sorry," Murphy replied with a shake of her head. "I have no idea." The brunette leaned against the kitchen counter, her lip bit in thought. "You said Lila gave those to you?" she asked darkly. Serenity nodded.

"I don't think she-"

"Don't assume someone wouldn't do something just because you wouldn't," Murphy warned. She sighed and shrugged. "It looks like you've reached that point."

"What point?" Serenity asked.

"Well, I only know so much about Seto, more than the average person, sure, but… not everything. He never let me in, not at all. I- I'm sorry, but I've helped you all that I can with him." She laughed softly, her eyes sad. "You're on your own from now on kid, I've told you everything I know. I'm sorry. "

Serenity stared at Murphy. "But- but-" Murphy always had something to say on the subject. Always a story or something about Seto she'd noticed over the time they'd known each other, never a flat out nothing.

"Can you answer something for me? One more question?"

Murphy paused, but nodded. "Sure. One more."

Serenity took a breath. "Did he ever-" Serenity glanced down. She tried to force the words out of her mouth, but it was harder than she realized.

"It's alright. Spit it out."

"Did he ever hit you?" She thought of the way he'd come towards her, his eyes so vivid.

Murphy exhaled softly. He rubbed her forefinger over her brow. "Serenity-"

"Murphy!" Both brunettes looked to the top of the staircase. "Will you come here for a minute? _Quickly?_"

Murphy glanced up at Seto with annoyance. "Can it wait? I'm kind of having a serious conversation-"

"Now!" Murphy rolled her eyes. "And- and bring Wheeler with you, if you feel the need." The two girls' gazes met with raised eyebrows, but nevertheless, followed Seto up the stairs. They walked back into the bedroom Serenity had just left. An ancient-looking VCR was plugged into the TV, the screen blue.

Murphy looked at the stack of tapes on the floor, and then to Serenity, who nodded. "What's up?" Murphy asked Seto cautiously. She too seemed to be tiptoeing around him, now that they were so closely confined. Seto either didn't noticed or was very skilled at pretending he didn't.

"Sit down," he commanded. Both girls obeyed.

The screen flickered, and then started playing. Serenity frowned, not understanding what was going on or why Seto was bothering to show them this. But after a few seconds, Serenity heard a gasp from behind her. Murphy sat forward, a hand covering her mouth. "Have you looked over these?" She demanded, turning to Seto. The boy shook his head, his eyes transfixed on the screen. Serenity didn't see anything interesting, just a couple of people sitting around the room talking. Nothing was worth filming. Serenity came to the conclusion that the video recorder must have been new. Why else would they've wasted battery life on this?

The room they sat in was lavishly decorated, and the people dressed in what appeared to be cocktail attire. Murphy and Seto were both already completely absorbed in the tape.

"_Yeah, we'll go out back as soon as they've had a few glasses,"_ whoever was recording the scene said. The blonde boy next to him nodded. He was completely turned away from the camera. The camera traveled around the room, focusing sometimes on random adults, each time a flicker of recognition would pass through the two next to Serenity's eyes. After staying on a bald man for a while, the camera suddenly jolted elsewhere, the picture blurred, then focused on a random spot on the ground.

"_Holy shit," _one of the boys said, the smile in his voice obvious.

"_About time,_" the other said with the same tone.

"_Dude, get this!" _

The camera fumbled for a second, then focused on the front door. A tall, good-looking woman walked through the door. Her bright blue eyes flickered with annoyance. Wordlessly, she joined a group of ladies in the far right corner, leaving behind a tall, rail-thin girl with black hair in loose curls and mischievously narrowed brown eyes.

"Oh. My. God," Murphy breathed. She leaned forward, and then flinched, looking almost like she wanted to turn away.

"What?" Serenity asked. She stared at the girl, who was obviously wearing a school uniform. The navy blazer was ill-fitting and torn at one shoulder, the school crest pealing off, the pleated plaid skirt around her waist much to short, and her pair of tall, tan leather boots were scuffed, possibly beyond repair. And then, it hit Serenity. "That's you!" she gaped. Murphy nodded.

She watched the screen as Murphy sauntered over to where the camera was, and flopped down beside the boy holding the camera, and the blonde boy, whose face Serenity could make out. "Malcolm Rags?" Serenity asked. Murphy nodded.

"_Where have you been?" Malcolm asked. Murphy shrugged and grinned. _

"_School, obviously," she replied, jerking her head down to the blazer over her shoulder. _

"_You on break or something?" he asked. _

_Murphy's grin stretched. "Not exactly." Malcolm raised an eyebrow. "Well, what do you think?" Murphy laughed, and soon they were both laughing. _

"_What for?" the blonde asked. Murphy smiled and shrugged. The blonde grinned. _

"_Where's Kaiba?" Murphy asked suddenly, straightening up. Malcolm scowled. _

"_How the fuck should I know? He hasn't been hanging around us with you gone." _

"_He's with all them," the boy holding the camera said. Murphy frowned and nodded. She sunk into the couch. "I'm bored," she declared. She looked around the room and then stood up. She looked into the camera and grinned, as if noticing it for the first time. "Where'd you get that?" she asked. _

"_Stole it," the holder replied proudly. Murphy reached out and took the camera. _

"_Hey! Murphy! That's not- give that back!" _

"_Thanks bud," she called, walking away. Malcolm laughed from behind her. _

"_Wait! Murph- Muph!" Malcolm called, trying to catch up to her. "God, would you slow-" _

And then it stopped. Serenity blinked. "That's that place," she said, "where you guys-" but then the tape flashed to another scene, and Serenity was silenced.

"_Don't be angry," Murphy grinned. She was stretched across one of two twin-sized beds in the room. Seto sat in a chair in the corner, obviously not happy. _

"_I'm not angry," Seto replied, obviously agitated. Murphy crawled from the bed, wearing only a loose fitting button down, obviously not hers, and a pair of red lace underwear. There were two others in the room. One was Malcolm, and the other a tall, muscular red headed boy._

"_Here," Murphy was on top of Seto's lap now. He looked decidedly uncomfortable. She held out a joint to him. Hesitantly, Seto took it. He glanced to Murphy. "Go on," she urged. "You'll be fine." _

_Seto put t to his lips, and then seconds later dissolved into fits of coughs. Murphy burst out laughing. "You're adorable," she cooed. _

"_Murphy," Malcolm barked. The camera jumped to the blonde. Movement could be heard in the background, and soon the dark-haired girl was lying across one of the beds beside him, her head in his lap. _

"You know what," present-day Murphy said, standing up, "no. I don't want to watch these." She jabbed the power button of the television with her index finger. She turned to Seto with a raised eyebrow, but he was still staring at the screen as if nothing had happened. "Freak," Murphy mumbled. She walked out of the door. Serenity followed.

She turned to Serenity, her face muddled. "I don't know what he's playing at," she said darkly.

"What are you talking about?" Serenity asked.

Murphy took breath. "Never mind. Just- God. He's a bastard."

Serenity frowned. "Why? I mean, yeah those aren't exactly flattering, but-"

"You don't understand, Serenity. He has to remind me. Constantly. I can never get away from it."

"Get away from what?" Serenity asked, following Murphy down the hall.

"God- everything!" the girl replied. She turned to face Serenity. "Something is fucking with his head right now. Hell, if I didn't know any better I'd think-" Murphy froze.

"Think what?" Serenity asked quickly. "What?"

But Murphy didn't reply. She simply turned around and walked down the hallway, and no matter now many times Serenity called to her, Murphy didn't reply.

A/N Want a little fun fact? Okay, here it is; this is the one-year anniversary of this story. I can't believe it. I had to wait until this day to update. Anyways, thanks for reading! And thanks to **Havelock Vetinari, sleepy dreamer 9, chocolatah, Back Licorice Addict, MustLoveTakuya, **and** NikkaThory **for reviewing! I hope all you readers out there in cyber world liked the chapter! Please leave me a review if you don't mind, and Merry Christmas!


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I don't plan on ever owning any of the character that are recognizable. I also don't own Crystal Castles. Just sayn'.

"What?"

Murphy jerked away, her eyes flicking to the floor. "Nothing," she mumbled. Seto continued on, scolding the girls for their untimeliness, and again, Murphy's round brown eyes slowly made their way up to Seto's face, an odd mix of confusion and concern on her face.

"- And the responsibility of- _What, _Murphy_?_" The young CEO snapped, his annoyance obvious. Serenity wondered whether Seto even noticed that the curly haired girl wasn't giving him the usual glare of contempt.

The brunette blinked. She opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, but instead the girl merely shrugged and turned back to her computer.

Serenity had been watching the two closer than usual. Nothing seemed to have really changed since the previous day. She'd tried to ask Murphy what exactly she suspected Seto of, but for the first time since Serenity could remember, Murphy refused to open her mouth. Every time she'd try to bring it up, Murphy would either shake her head rapidly or just plain walk away. In fact, until the end of the day, Murphy hadn't mentioned anything about Lila or the tapes or any other thing that had happened in the past few weeks. Until she practically dragged Serenity out of the building and around the corner, that is.

"Okay," the brunette breathed, her chest rising and falling. "Sorry, there was no way I could say anything about it in there."

"About wha-"

"Do you have any money?" Murphy cut in. Her eyes were scanning the area, watching as the occasional cab pulled over to the sidewalk.

"No," Serenity replied with a shake of her head. "I spent the last I had on me at lunch."

Murphy's eyes fogged for a minute. "Well…" she said slowly, and then, with the shadow of her signature mischievous smirked asked, "Can you dive?"

"I can't believe I'm doing this, I can't believe I'm doing this," Serenity muttered to herself. Where in life had she gone wrong?

"Eh. It's no big really," Murphy replied. "People do it all the time." She casually rested her feat on the dashboard and started fiddling with the radio. "God, he has literally no-"

"People do _not _do this all the time," Serenity snapped, not being able to keep the shrillness out of her voice. "We just stole Seto Kaiba's car!"

Murphy grinned. "This is one to tell the grandchildren."

"Yeah," Serenity muttered, "if we make it that far."

Initially, Serenity had refused to drive. Just being _with _Murphy as she broke into the Kaiba Corp's parking center, bribed the guards with God knows what as they caught her, and then had proceeded to take Seto's slate grey Porsche from his spot, was enough to get her in jail. But after five minutes of Murphy's terrifying driving, in which she ran a stop sign _and _had to slam on the brakes to avoid running over an entire group of girl scouts, Serenity had taken the wheel, and already she was regretting it.

"Okay, so when you get up here, turn to the… right?" Murphy paused. "Wait which way is this was?" She raised her right hand.

"That's right," Serenity nodded.

"Okay, well, turn the opposite of that."

Serenity groaned, but complied. "If you would just tell me the name of this place we could just plug in into the GPS."

Murphy quickly shook his head. "You have no idea how much trouble we would get into if he found out we'd been here. Trust me. I- just trust me."

"More than stealing his car?" Serenity asked darkly. Murphy didn't reply. She fiddled around with the radio more stopping on a channel playing some obscure song she'd never heard.

_When the splints have been broken_

_and they can't help you now_

_do you pray with your eyes closed naturally? _

"To get us in the mood," Murphy informed Serenity with a slightly bitter smile, as if the song she was playing and where they were going was supposed to mean something to her.

Serenity was definitely getting nervous, however. Murphy was taking her far out of the city limits. "Why don't you explain while we're on the way? We don't have anything else to do." The buildings were growing smaller and further apart as they went, but this was obviously no suburb. Things were becoming sketchier with every mile.

"I would if you would have let me drive," Murphy muttered. Serenity raised an eyebrow. "Not that I blame you," she continued, "but you would turn around if I told you, and Seto would probably be walking out right when we got there and who knows, you may tell him where I was trying to take you and that would be the end of that. Take another right here."

Deciding to ignore the part about Seto being so incredibly angry about where they were headed, Serenity replied, "I wouldn't tell Seto."

"Yeah you would," Murphy sighed, slouching in her seat. "But that's a good thing."

"When have I ever sold you out?" Serenity asked with a frown, not being able to hide that she was indeed offended.

"Never," Murphy assured her.

"Well then-" but instead of attempting an argument, Serenity sighed and dropped the subject. There was no use trying to pull anything out of Murphy, even if Serenity was trying to find information out about herself.

"Okay, pull over here," Murphy breathed.

"What?" Serenity asked. "We're in the middle of no where!" It was true. They were on a random back road, tress the only thing in sight. "Please, tell me we're not headed into the woods," Serenity groaned, clutching her hands tightly on the steering wheel.

Murphy smiled slightly. "No, I just need a minute." Serenity complied. She waited as Murphy sat, biting at her thumbnail. "Okay. Keep going straight."

Serenity had no idea how this area could possibly relate to Seto. The buildings were starting to crumble and the streets filled with cracks and potholes. Many of the windows looked as if they had long been busted through, not to mention there was hardly a surface not covered with spray paint.

"God," Murphy mused, leaning forwards. "This place hasn't changed a bit."

Serenity drove a little bit further. Besides one or two people walking along the side of the road, the entire neighborhood (if you could call it that) seemed deserted.

"Right here," Murphy said suddenly, pointing to a building with a faded sign that read _The Blot_.

Serenity started to ask if she was sure that this shitty building was really the right place, but Murphy was already climbing out of the car. Serenity quickly followed.

The faint tingling of a bell could be heard when the two girls walked through the door. The first thing that Serenity noticed was dust. The whole room seemed to be filled with it. The counters were covered in layers of it, and the couches, which looked as if they may have once been white, were now a disgusting yellowish grey.

"Now this place, has gone pretty far down hill," Murphy said out of the corner of her mouth.

She walked to the dated cash register where a girl with long, obviously dyed blonde hair sat, her body leaning over the counter with here eyes firmly shut.

"You're obviously not asleep," Murphy said with an eye roll.

The girl sat up and scowled. "I was resting my eyes," she replied haughtily, sweeping her slightly greasy bangs out of her face. "Do you have an appointment?  
Serenity turned to Murphy, one eyebrow raised. Appointment? Her eyes scanned the room. Faded couched, a few chairs with broken legs shoved into the corner. Nothing much else except a TV, its screen fuzzy, resting on a green plastic table. There was, however, a doorway, blocked by a thin white sheet and a wooden staircase at the back of the room.

"Appoint- damn. That's kind of depressing… in a sick sort of- you know what. Never mind." Murphy paused. "I'm with FedEx," she added with a smirk. Serenity figured it must be code for something.

The girl stared at her. "What?"

"I'm with- God damn. You guys have changed. Kenny! I need to see Kenny!"

The girl stared at Murphy suspiciously. "Are you the one who didn't sign the waver?"

Murphy's jaw practically dropped. "I used to be fucking royalty at this place," she told Serenity.

Serenity wasn't so sure that was a good thing.

"Look, this isn't about a tat," Murphy sighed. "I'm going upstairs. And," she continued as the girl opened her mouth to protest, "I know that the upstairs floor isn't rotted, so please don't try that on me. I _invented _that excuse."  
With that Murphy strode away, and Serenity couldn't help but smirk at the girl, staring open-mouthed after Murphy. _Bam. _

"So this is a tattoo parlor?" Serenity asked as she followed Murphy up the stairs. The brunette nodded. "So… Does that mean Seto has one?" Serenity grinned.

Murphy laughed. "No, well…not anymore. I'll tell you the story sometime."

The two approached a wooden door, its navy paint peeling off. Murphy walked straight in, not a bit of a hesitation.

Immediately, the smell of sharp smoke filled Serenity's nostrils. She spun to Murphy, her mouth open to inquire as to the obvious reek of weed, but Murphy was occupied with something else.

"Get up you little fucker!" She jumped on top on the mattress in the corner, and, Serenity realized with a gasp, whoever was under its thick blankets. A small struggle ensued, until, finally, a guy, most likely in his late mid-twenties burst out of the blankets, gasping for breath.

"What the hell do you think you're- Murph?" The guy sat up, squinting his eyes. He had brown hair a thick brown beard, small, black beady eyes, and multiple piercings on his lip and going up and down his ears. He grabbed a pair of thick-rimmed black glasses from the cardboard box serving as a bedside table. "Ho-lee shit." He sat up and thrust the various musty blankets off of him.

"Maybe you should put some clothes on," Murphy grinned. The boy grunted. He stood up, thankfully with a blanket wrapped around his hips, and pulled on a pair of red plaid boxers that had been lying on the floor. Serenity crinkled her nose in disgust.

The room was pretty scarce. Opposite of the cardboard box and mattress was a lime green futon and a wooden dresser, the mirror on top of it cracked. At least twenty picture frames covered its surface.

"Is this shit real?" The boy asked, plopping down on the wooden floor with Murphy. Serenity followed suit. As she was doing so, she caught sight of one of the pictures. It was taken in the very room she sat in, on the futon across from her. The boy was in the middle, with less piercings and longer hair, Murphy on one side and Seto, looking as agitated as always, on the other. Serenity felt her jaw drop, but quickly shut it.

"Very," Murphy replied. "So pay attention, Kenny, because this is important." She paused. "And this is Serenity, by the way. You're not allowed to touch her."

Serenity shifted uncomfortably while Kenny scanned her up and down. He jerked his chin up. Serenity took this as a form of greeting and nodded back.

"Do you want your old job back?" He asked, turning his head back to Murphy. "You looking to sell? I just got a-"

"No," she interrupted, and Kenny's shoulders visibly drooped. "I need to know if Seto's been around lately." Serenity sat up straighter. So this was what this was all about.

Kenny sighed. He shifted his weight and, for a second, didn't reply. "Why do you want to know?"

"Don't fuck with me, Kenny. Has he?" Murphy demanded.

"Damn," Kenny sighed, leaning back. "And I thought you just came by 'cause you missed me. I've heard rumors, Murphy."

Murphy paused, but then took the bait. "What kind of rumors?"

"'Bout you and him, of course. I thought you might be coming soon. That you might be in need of some cash, just like the old days."

"Those days are done," Murphy said sharply, "obviously, because this place is dead. Looks like it had been for a while."

Kenny's teeth were bared for a moment, but then he relaxed. "Yeah, well... Yeah."

There was a tense moment. "So, is it true, then?" he asked.

"What?" Murphy replied.

"That you've stopped using because you and Kaiba are having a baby."

Serenity turned to Murphy. _"What?" _

Kenny smirked.

"No," Murphy said quickly. She turned to Serenity. "I promise. Yeah, I'm pregnant. No, it's not Seto's."

Kenny leaned forward. "Uh… Does he know that?"

"Why, what did he say?" Murphy asked quickly. Too quickly.

"Nope," Kenny replied, obviously satisfied with himself.

"God dammit, have you talked to Seto or not?" Murphy yelled. There was the sound of obvious movement and shuffling downstairs.

"Alright, alright," Kenny scowled. "Keep it down. Rain's probably got a customer down there by now." He stood up and walked to door, placing his hear on the keyhole. "Yeah… you keep it down, bitch." His words weren't said with venom, and Murphy laughed after them. This was obviously some sort of inside joke Serenity didn't understand.

"I haven't talked to Kaiba in years," he admitted. Both Serenity and Murphy exhaled with relief. "Don't see why you're so surprised. Sir Studly's got a whole empire to run, doesn't he?"

"Sir Stu- God. I can't believe the shit we used to say," Murphy laughed.

"You miss it?" Kenny asked, almost hopefully.

Murphy paused. "Not enough to come back."

"You really don't smoke anymore?" He asked incredulously.

"Pregnant," Murphy replied, but then stopped. "Who told you anyway, if you haven't talked to Seto."

"I'm not telling you until you tell me who you slept with that's not Kaiba," Kenny replied seriously. "That is low, Murph. Real low. You know how he is about you."

There was a very long, very awkward pause. Kenny's mouth slowly opened, his mouth dropping. "No way," he said quietly, "no fucking way. Not- not you and Seto? No."

Murphy nodded. The boy sat back and ran his hands through his hair. "I'm sorry, Murphy," he said, his tone genuine.

Murphy shrugged. "You're out of the loop. It was years ago." Kenny nodded. He paused then shook his head. "You don't smoke, you're not with Kaiba- who the fuck are you now?" He said it lightly, his tone joking, but Murphy went rigid.

"We should go," she said standing up. Once again, Serenity followed suit.

"Shit, Murph, you jut got-"

"I'll see you around," Murphy said, though she most likely wouldn't. Hopefully, she wouldn't. "Don't you want to know who told me?" he called after Murphy, but he was ignored.

The two girls walked down the stairs, not saying anything. The girl at the register scowled as they passed, but Murphy didn't even acknowledge her. Serenity frowned. Not typical Murphy behavior. Usually, she would have said something else to even further ruffle the girl's feathers.

Silently, Murphy sat down in the driver's seat. Serenity didn't have the heart to make her move.

"Those aren't the only two things about my life," she said suddenly, after they'd pulled out of the driveway.

"I know," Serenity replied. She paused, but then couldn't help but ask, "Did you really used to deal?"

"Me?" Murphy asked, surprised. "God, I forget how little you know sometimes. Yeah. I did." She paused. "When we were younger, around your age, really, we- Seto and I- had no money. Seto had a fortune of course, but since he was still considered a minor he was only given an allowance, and those bastards didn't give him much. Not enough for us, at least. We needed money and there was no way I was hitting the street corners, so…" She shrugged. "Gotta do what you gotta do. Quite honestly I'm surprised. I was expecting Kenny would try do make us do a run for information."

"Would you have?" Serenity asked uncertainly.

"No. Not with how that place looked. I was thinking he might have gotten bugged or something, cops finally caught on." She said nothing more and turned out of the neighborhood.

It was weird for Serenity to think that all this had happened when they were not just her age, but also even a little younger. Then again, it was weird to think it even happened at all.

Neither of the girls said anything for a long time. "So this is it?" Serenity asked. "You thought Seto was using again?"

Murphy didn't say anything for a minute. "Yes," she replied. "He still may be. Kenny's was just a starting point. Anyone who knows him well knows that if he gets fucked up that Kenny's a likely suspect. But then again, he would have to be stupid to get anything from him. Or just careless, which is even scarier."

"But who else besides you would know that he'd go to Kenny?" Serenity asked.

"Well," Murphy said as they pulled onto a slightly more inhabited road than before, which worried Serenity, as she'd seen a preview of Murphy's driving skills. "A few people, not many, but a few. You know Orvis, the butler guy?" Serenity nodded. "They might not show it, but they're close. The guys been around for longer than I can remember, longer than Seto can remember, probably."

"Why doesn't he ever talk to us then? He comes in every once and a while, whispers something to Seto and leaves."

"Well, me and him… I understand. With all the shit I've put Seto through I'd be surprised if he _didn't _hate me. He put so much effort into us, you know. He used to be the father figure I never had, but you know, Seto stopped. I didn't. It's not your fault he doesn't talk to you," Murphy assured her, "he doesn't want to get attached to you, just incase you turn out to be more like me."

Serenity wasn't sure what to say to that. "Who else?" she asked instead of addressing what Murphy had said.

"Lila could figure it out. She knows about our many escapades with K. God know how, that bitch finds out _everything," _Murphy laughed. Serenity smiled weakly.

"What about Mokuba?" Serenity asked. Murphy's smile quickly faded.

"I hope not," was all she said.

Serenity had never thought about what Mokuba would have been doing during those days. Had Seto kept him in the house while him, and especially Murphy, were running wild? It would have been dangerous to let him be in the same building as the two, but would Seto have sent him away? And if so, _where_?

"What even makes you even think that he's using again?" Serenity asked suddenly. "No. Seto wouldn't do that to Mokuba. Especially know that he's be old enough to realize what's going on."

"What makes you think that?" Murphy asked darkly. "Didn't stop him before."

"I just do," Serenity replied, "And Kaiba Corp! Seto wouldn't jeopardize anything having to do with his company."

Murphy merely shrugged, and an awful thought crept into her head. Maybe Murphy wanted Seto to be using. That for once she wouldn't be the screw up. Or maybe she wanted something, anything, to relate him as she once did. To connect with him on a level Serenity would never understand. She didn't want to think it, she didn't want her mind to even consider the idea, but she thought about what Seto had told her, to stay away from both him and Murphy. That she was about to "shift," whatever that meant.

"Pull over," Serenity sighed, "I'll drive from here."

* * *

Seto, thankfully, was still at Kaiba Corp. when the girls pulled into Domino.

"Just go on to the Kaiba mansion," Murphy said, "We'll have a maid or someone take the car back when we get there."

Serenity did as she was told. They hadn't said anything else up to that point, and until they pulled into Seto's circular drive, they remained silent.

"I still need your help," Murphy said. Serenity nodded, though she was definitely more hesitant to agree this time around. "We're going to need to get to Seto's room. No one's allowed in, of course, but, well, you know. It's for his own-"

"Murphy!"

Both girls' heads whipped around to the door where Lila stood. Her face was contorted into its usual look of anger and annoyance. "You need to-"

"Kind of busy," Murphy replied with a scowl as she climbed out of the car. "Here's the plan," she said to Serenity, ignoring her sister's presence completely. "We'll-"

"This is important," Lila growled. "It's about those tapes."

Murphy turned to her sister and scowled. "You watched them?" she hissed.

"They were mine to begin with," Lila scowled. "And as it turned out, someone else has seen them. And they're not too happy." Lila turned on the heel of her purple stiletto. Murphy and Serenity's eyes met. They quickly followed.

"Would you mind telling me who his mystery person is?" Murphy growled, catching up to her sister.

Lila stopped and turned to face her full on. "Your mother."

Almost a full minute passed. "What the hell?" Murphy finally said softly, shaking her head. "How did she even-"

"Am I interrupting something?" A deep voice asked from behind the three girls.

"Malcolm," both sisters spun around, and then glared at each other.

Murphy's face was growing red. " Hope you weren't looking for your trust fund back. I think half the country has seen those tapes by now." Serenity had the feeling she was intruding on something. By the way not just Murphy, but Lila as well, were hovering around Malcolm, she'd say he was a sore subject amongst the two. "Alright, Serenity, you go do what we talked about-"

"But I don't know what to look for!" Serenity insisted. Murphy ignored her.

"Malcolm, come help me get rid of these. I don't want anyone else laying eyes on them. God knows what else is on there." The blonde nodded.

"I'll wait for Kaiba to come home," Lila said. "I'll make sure he doesn't come in while you're working up there."

Serenity smiled with relief. "Thanks," she replied. And they said she was the anit-Christ. Lila shrugged. "Oh, anytime." And then sat down in one of the armchairs, pulling a laptop on top of her. Malcolm and Murphy walked out the door on the far wall.

Serenity wasn't sure where to go. She had no idea where Seto's room-

"Hey Serenity."

"Mokuba, hey." Serenity paused. Mokuba would know how to get to Seto's room, but would he tell her? "So, I may need your help," Serenity told him.

"Okay," Mokuba nodded eagerly, happy, for once, to be included.

"Can you tell me how to get to your brother's room?" she asked hopefully.

Mokuba's smile faded. "I'm not really supposed to-"

"Oh I know," Serenity said quickly. "And I wouldn't ask except that apparently Murphy threw my gloves in there when we were joking around. I want to know how to get there in case she does it again when you're not home."

First, she stole a car, and now she was lying to Mokuba. _Mokuba! _Serenity 's morals had obviously been thrown out the window.

The raven-haired boy nodded and quickly told her the directions.

Seto's room as it turns out, was at the complete back of the house. Once she'd found the right hall it was easy to tell which was his. There was a pair of white double doors at the very end of the hall, which, besides for a spare bedroom or two, was completely empty. She turned the gold ornate handles and stepped inside.

Like most of the rest of the house, Seto's floor was a highly polished wood. A large king-sized bed sat in the room with navy tapestries hanging off of it that perfectly matched the navy walls. A mahogany desk sat in one corner, papers neatly stacked on top.

Serenity walked in a little further to find an incredibly spacious closet. She was instantly jealous. "How many pairs of shoes does this kid have?" Serenity muttered. She turned around and found herself face-to-face with yet another set of double doors, these ones, however, appeared to be crystal. Typical. She pushed through them only to be lead to a completely marble bathroom, which was unusually spotless for nineteen-year-old boy. But it was Seto, so what more could she expect?

Remembering she was there for a reason, Serenity scanned the area. Nothing seemed amiss, not one thing was out of place. Noticing a medicine cabinet on the wall, Serenity almost reached out to open it, but right as she did, a voice behind her asked, "Enjoying yourself?"

Serenity jumped back. She spun around to see Seto standing in the doorway, standing at just the right spot so that he couldn't be seen in the mirrors. The brunette wasn't sure what to say. "You've got a really nice room," she blurted. Then frowned. Nope. That hadn't been right. Seto continued to glare at her.

"If I blamed this on Murphy," Serenity started slowly.

Seto rolled his eyes. "Should have known," he grunted. "And what was her excuse?"

Serenity paused. Seto raised an eyebrow. "I'd prefer not to say," she told him lamely. However, the CEO's fearsome glare did eventually coax the story out of her, as always.

"… And so we _finally _got there and we had to talk to this guy Kenny- who was completely naked, by the way-"

"Kenny's always naked," Seto grunted. Serenity's lip twitched. They'd migrated to Seto's room and the two were both sitting on the floor, Serenity's back to the wall, Seto's to his massive bed. "She asked him about you and if you'd been there. He said no, and then we left, so basically the entire trip was a waste if you ask me. When we eventually did get home she sent me up here to make sure you weren't hiding anything while she went off with Malcolm." Serenity finished, the unjustness of it all settling in for the first time.

"Well," Seto said, motioning around the room. "Feel free to search. There's a safe behind the bed if you want to make it thorough."

Serenity shifted uncomfortably. Looking through Seto's things would have been weird enough, doing it while he was so bluntly watching her…

"You're good at this," Serenity sighed.

Seto nodded. "I've lived with Murphy for the past three years. Opportunities to practice have been abundant." Serenity smiled weakly, but then stopped. Wasn't Lila supposed to be watching for Seto so she didn't get caught? Serenity felt herself scowl. That bitch.

"Trust me, it wasn't my idea."

"You agreed," Seto reminded sternly, "which is just as bad."

"I know," Serenity sighed. "It's the last time I go with one of her plans. They always end up with me in trouble."

"I do have one question, however." He paused, his eyes fixed on Serenity. "How exactly did you get to Kenny?"

Serenity froze. "Um. Well, we…"

Seto was staring at her, an expectant glare in his eyes.

"Alright, stop," she sighed. "You obviously already know the answer."

"Say it," the boy demanded.

"Seto!" Serenity whined.

"Admit to your mistakes."

Serenity paused. "Fine… I stole your car. But then I felt really bad the rest of the way!"

Seto stared at her. "You mean when you weren't discussing my personal life with a stranger?"

"…Yes?" Serenity sighed. "I'm sorry. If it helps at all, I didn't agree with Murphy. I never thought you'd started again." She glanced up at Seto's face. "Does it help at all?"

He visibly paused. "I suppose," he grumbled.

"I'll make it a point to pass along the message to Murphy that you're not relapsing," Serenity muttered. The girl hadn't cared enough to come search the room herself.

"It would be a waste of time," Seto told her blankly. "She didn't think that for a minute. Murphy needed to revisit that disgusting hole-in-the-wall. She's moving on with her life. It was a form of closure. Whether she knows this or if it was her subconscious, I can't say."

"I'm ready for this all to end," Serenity sighed, more of thinking out loud. Seto stared at her. "Don't tell me you don't feel the same way. It's exhausting. Is your life always this way?"

Seto paused. "Yes."

"That," Serenity sighed, "sucks." She paused, and then watched Seto, who had his usual slightly annoyed frown. It seemed to be a permanent fixture. And then an idea had popped into Serenity's head. It was so simple, and yet she'd never even considered it. She tried to decide whether or not Seto would agree when he snapped, "What?" This was one thing she'd learned about Seto. He hated to be stared at.

"Do you want to leave?"

Seto blinked. "What are you-"

"They'll be fine. Murphy has Lila to watch her and Malcolm to entertain herself with. We can take Mokuba with us if you feel the need. Let's just go. I've haven't missed a day of school yet and what's Joey going to do? _Ground _me?"

Seto stared at Serenity as if he'd never seen her before. He opened his mouth, closed it, and repeated the process. But then, without any explanation, he stood up, turned around, and started walking away. Serenity felt dejection shoot through her, but the CEO stopped and turned to her, one eyebrow raised. "Hurry up. I have to get Mokuba packed."

Serenity couldn't help but beam up at the boy. People could say what they wanted. When it came down to it, Seto Kaiba could be pretty damn boss.

* * *

A/N I'm so excited for the next chapter. Seto and Serenity are _finally _going to get their much-deserved bonding time. Thanks for reading, and thanks to **sleepy dreamer 9, NikkaThory, Chocolatah, Mimiholly, **and** Hevelock Vetinari **for your amazing reviews. Please review, readers. It would make me quite happy indeed.


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: You know. The usual. **

* * *

"So," came a voice from behind Serenity, "I hear you're leaving."

The brunette turned, feeling her heart skip a beat. Lying in front of the girl was her suitcase, any article of clothing she could get her hands on thrown into it, organization be damned.

"Malcolm?" Serenity asked, tucking the lank hair falling in her face behind her ear, "Not that your, uh, unwelcome, but…." _What are you doing here? _ "This really isn't a good time," the brown-eyed girl finished lamely, becoming completely aware of the wreckage around her.

Malcolm ignored her and stepped into the small, white bedroom. He surveyed her hectic packing job, his olive-green eyes surprisingly flat, as though he had been expecting to find Serenity with her bags almost packed, ready to bolt. Maybe he was. Honestly, Serenity couldn't say.

"Look," he told her flatly, not bothering to turn his gaze away from her suitcase, "I know you didn't ask for this-"

"Exactly!" Serenity cried. "I just needed a job and all of a sudden-"

"But neither did the rest of us."

Serenity stopped. Her brown eyes turned to Malcolm, for the first time truly looking. Instead of the wild rock star heartbreaker the world, and up until then Serenity, saw him to be, all the brunette saw was a very tired twenty-something, still trying to get his footing in life. Just like everyone else.

"Do you think your brother wants to constantly worry about his sister being in the clutches of his worst enemy? Or Mokuba, always left in the dark to wonder what all the screaming is about this time?" There was a long pause. Malcolm ran his fingers over his buzz cut. His eyes flicked to Serenity for the first time, "Do you think I want to be a dad at twenty-four?" He took a breath and shook his head. "All I'm trying to say is that this is shit for all of us. Be cool."

And with that, Malcolm turned on the heel of one of his black combat boots and walked out of Serenity's room, not another word spoken.

_Be cool. _Out of all the phrases that could have possibly made Serenity have a change of heart, it was _be cool. _But, nevertheless, Serenity was pulling up to the Kaiba mansion empty handed.

"Wheeler," Seto said, as cool and reserved as always, "I was expecting you ten-"

"Stop," Serenity said suddenly, cutting him off, "Just stop. You can't do this." The CEO stared blankly at her, his navy eyes not betraying any emotion whatsoever. "You can act like you hate and resent this whole experience all you want, and hell, you probably do, I wouldn't know, but what I do is that you signed up for this mess the moment you decided to keep her around as your little when-it's-convenient plaything, or whatever your relationship is because God knows it doesn't make any sense to me. But it's okay, because I signed up for it too. I may not have known what exactly I was getting myself into, but I could have left at any time, _should _have left the first time, but I didn't. So I'm in thins too now I suppose, no, I know, because Malcolm freaking Rags just showed up in my bedroom- how many seventeen year old girls wish they could say that- and told me to _be cool_, so basically what I'm telling you is-"

But what Serenity was trying to say never got to be properly vocalized, as before she knew what was happening, Seto's lips had crashed onto hers, forceful and demanding.

Serenity took a step back. She stared at the boy in front of her, completely at a loss for words. "I-"

"_I _can't believe you're completely ditching me! I thought we were friends, and now you're leaving me alone, and I'm starting to show and God I wasn't skinny before I can't even imagine how-"

"Murphy," Seto said, stepping forward, his voice completely even as he turned towards the doorway of the Kaiba mansion where the girl was a standing, her eyes wide and red. "We're not leaving, and you're not showing. Go inside and go to sleep," he told her, his voice holding it's usual authoritarian tone.

Serenity had frozen in place. Her eyes darted to where the girl stood, hands on her full hips, but it didn't look as if she had really seen what had jus happened.

"I don't know," said a silky voice from behind Murphy, "I _definitely _think you've gotten-"

"Shut the fuck up, Lila."

Murphy raised an eyebrow. "Damn, Kaiba," she muttered, and turned back into the house, leaving Lila at the doorway to gap at the two for a minute before, finally, walking inside herself.

As if forcing himself, the CEO turned back to Serenity. The two stared at each other, completely silent.

"I should go home," Serenity whispered, tearing her eyes away from him and fixing her gaze firmly on the ground. This was wrong, completely wrong. Not because she didn't- it wasn't that he- well, of course she- Serenity lifted her chin and opened her mouth to say something, but Seto was already walking away, and she didn't call him back.

* * *

"Why hello."

It had been less than thirty seconds since Serenity had stepped out of her cab, and she was being assaulted. "You? _Again_?" she sighed, but this time she didn't try to walk away. "What's your problem? Are you following me? And if so, why?" the brunette demanded, though even she could detect the traces of defeat in her tone.

"Whoa now," Angelus grinned, "Calm down, princess. I have no interest in following you."

This was not helping Serenity's mood. Without replying, she turned to walk away, but the blonde's hand had reached out and grabbed her arm. "Don't!" Serenity warned, yanking herself away from the boy. He continued to grin down at her. Again, she started to walk away, before Angelus called after her, "You know, he seems to always put you in these moods!"

Feeling unease course through her, Serenity slowed to a stop. "You don't even know me," she replied, not turning around.

"Serenity," the boy sighed, bluntly exaggerating the gesture. "Can we _please _stop with the theatrics?"

The brunette spun around and cried, "_I'm _the theatrical one? You're the one always lurking around in the dark, popping up randomly like-"

"Lurking around in the dark?" the boy sniggered.

Serenity felt her face heat. "Forget it," she snapped. "Just leave me alone."

"Look," the boy sighed again, though this time with less grandeur. "I'm just wondering if it's worth it all?"

"I don't know what you're-"

"Come on. You can't deny there's something going on between you and boss-man." Serenity shifted uncomfortably. "And don't get me wrong," he continued, "I see the appeal. Who wouldn't? Kid's a beast. But is it worth it? Serenity," he looked at her, a smirk beginning to tug at the corner of his lips, "are you happy?"

"What the- you're a freak. You just need to- to-"

"Hey now. You don't even know me!" he laughed, spitting her own words right back at her.

"And I don't want to," Serenity growled.

"Alright, alright. Calm down now. Here," the boy pulled out a slip of paper and handed it over, "If you ever need me."

"Why would I ever-"

"_If _you ever need me," Angelus cut in, "don't hesitate to call." He gave her an almost mocking wink that made Serenity's lip curl and crossed the street, disappearing once again.

"Hopefully for good," Serenity muttered to no one in particular. She walked through the door of her building and up the stairs to her apartment. "Hey, guys-"

Instantly, something was off. She looked around the room. All the furniture was there, but the apartment felt oddly… empty. Serenity frowned. There was still the couch, but the thick brown blanket usually draped over it was gone. And the coffee table was oddly clean. There was no stack of magazines thrown in a slightly sloppy pile, threatening to tip at any time, no half full nail polish bottles. The girl dropped her purse beside the door and walked in a little further. "Joey?" she called out, "Mai?" No answer.

Like the living area, the kitchen was too clean. Serenity, now definitely nervous, walked down the short hallway and stopped at the bathroom. Joey's stuff was everywhere as usual, but where, the brunette wondered, feeling her heart start to pick up speed, was any of Mai's?

With a much quicker pace than usual, Serenity rushed into Joey and Mai's bedroom and flung open the small step in closet. Serenity felt her stomach drop. Empty.

"You have got to be kidding me," Serenity muttered, running her fingers through her hair. She pulled out her phone from her pocket and shakily dialed her brother's number, but got no answer.

Serenity walked back to the couch, shaking her head. Maybe Mai was just going on a business trip, a long business trip that required all of her possessions. …No, that was ridiculous. But if they were breaking up, what was it to Serenity? They weren't her parents. It was her brother and his girlfriend. Serenity bit at her cuticles with one hand, and grabbed the remote with the other. Then again, how could they keep the apartment? In all honestly, Mai's job as an assistant at some fashion designer Serenity should know brought in at least seventy-eight percent of the couples income. Jobs were something Joey was never particularly skilled at keeping. Most of what Serenity earned went straight to her college fund. She could stop with that and start taking more- Kaiba Corp. Seto. Serenity blinked, and, for the first time it completely hit her. Seto had kissed her, at his house, in his driveway. "_What?" _Serenity said to herself, because that didn't make sense. Because Seto had never showed the slightest interest in her, and because it took over a year for him just to agree to be a distant unaffectionate friend, because he was _Seto Kaiba_, CEO of Kaiba Corporation, a freaking demigod! And she was… no one.

Serenity felt her head begin to pound.

"- So sorry, God this is just ridiculous of me." Serenity perked to attention at the sound of a frazzled voice, obviously Mai's. The brunette felt herself relax slightly. Of course it had just been some stupid fight-

"But I really need to get my hairdryer, my hair is so thick I had to custom order-" Mai stopped, a weary-looking Joey behind her, key in hand.

"Serenity," Mai said slowly. "I didn't know you'd be back…"

Serenity didn't reply at first. "How long?" she asked, hating that her voice barely started to shake as she did so.

There was a long pause. "A couple of weeks," Mai finally replied smoothly. "We've been waiting until I found a new apartment and Joey made sure he was getting that promotion-"

"Right," Serenity said, cutting her off. "Right." She turned back to the TV and flipped the channel from one completely fake reality show to another with practically the same premise. From the corner of her eye she could see Joey and Mai exchange a look.

She felt her phone start to vibrate from her pocket. Hardy aware of what she was doing, Serenity pulled it from her jeans and answered it.

"Are you watching the news?" Serenity blinked and jerked the phone away from her, as if she wasn't actually expecting sound to come out.

"Who is this?" she asked, frowning slightly.

"Leo," the boy said slowly, as if they spoke everyday.

"Um, hi?"

"Are you watching the news?" the boy demanded again. Serenity blinked.

"No," Serenity replied. She hadn't talked to the boy, or to any of her old friends for that matter, in months. She grabbed the remote once again and started flipping through the channels.

"Oh, shit, Serenity, listen, don't-"

"_-Body of Seventeen-Year-Old Marcus Fleetwood found at Domino City Dock's-" _

Immediately, Serenity's stomach started to clench up. As she continued to watch, not hearing what Leo, or anybody else in the room, was saying, she could feel her head start to cloud, and thoughts run together.

"_This investigation has been going on for- over a year now, Veronica?" _

"_That's right, Tim. Local reports claim it was actually a trout fishing boat that caught the body in its net." _

"_The real question, of course, is why it took so long for it to surface-" _

"Serenity? Your phone is-"

The brunette squeezed the off button, her eyes not bothering to wonder where her brother stood. There was no stomach flippage or chills. Serenity just felt… blank. And tired.

"I'm going to bed."

And that's exactly what the brunette did.

* * *

"Hello?" The boy had picked up on the first ring.

It was late. Sometime past where anyone was in danger of over hearing her, but still, Serenity sat crouched under her covers, the phone pressed to her ear. She was trying to control herself, her breathing, the racing of her heart. Her hands still shook. None of it was working.

"Serenity," she could practically hear the smirk in his voice. "This is a bit sooner than expected, I admit, but-"

"Just come get me."

There was a pause on the other end, and then a low chuckle. "My dear, I'll be there in ten."

**A/N I am incredibly sorry! For two things, actually. One, the hideously long wait and two, how short this chapter is. It's another one of those transitions, I assure you twenty-two will be back to regular length. Anyways, I can safely say we're definitely on the downward slope now, in fact, I think it'll all be wrapped up in a couple of chapters. Thanks for reading! **


	22. Chapter 22

For a situation she once thought would send her heart on a rampage and cause her hands to tremble uncontrollably, Serenity was surprisingly calm. She sat silent in the low black car of Angelus's, the boy that maybe was dating Bex, maybe evil, and maybe stalking her, but the brunette was completely nonplused. The blonde had not said a word or even looked over at the girl.

As soon as she'd called Angelus, Serenity had gone beyond just turning her cellphone off. She'd thrown it outside Joey's apartment window. She didn't want to talk to anyone and, more importantly, didn't want to be found.

"He was dumb as shit, you know?" the boy said after a few minutes. "If it wasn't- if it hadn't happened that night, something would have eventually-"

Serenity didn't reply. "If the guy was stupid enough to-"

"We're not talking about this."

Angelus's mouth curved into a small, tight smile. "You have potential, Serenity," he said. "It saddens me to see you waste it, to throw it away as you do."

Serenity frowned slightly. "For what?" she demanded, turning to him for the first time that night.

Angelus didn't reply. His smirk grew as he flicked on his blinkers. Serenity didn't know where they were going. She didn't care enough to ask. "Well?" she pushed, an edge to her voice. There was no reply.

Not too much longer, the car pulled over. They were on the south side of Domino. She, along with everybody else, knew it was a sketchy area, and had been told for as long as she could remember to avoid it.

"Follow me." Without pausing, Serenity climbed out of the car. The two walked side-by-side down a narrow, dimly lit alleyway. Still, Serenity didn't ask where they were going. For some reason, she was trusting Angelus to lead her to where she knew she'd want to be. But, Serenity thought with a frown, this seemed to be a complete dead end. Not a door or even a fire escape in sight.

Angelus paused. His eyes scanned the area before a small smile appeared on his face. He walked over a silver empty dumpster and gave it three swift kicks. Serenity's eyebrow rose.

After a good ten seconds, much to Serenity's surprise, the front panel of the dumpster opened forwards, as if it was on hinges. "How-"

Angelus didn't reply, but ducked under the hidden door and disappeared. After only a slight moment of hesitation, Serenity followed. Without speaking, the two made their way down a damp, brick tunnel even narrower than the alleyway they'd just come from. The ceiling was so low both of the two had to keep their backs thoroughly hunched over.

Finally, there was another horizontal silver door. Without having to kick it this time, Angelus pushed her his way through, and then kept it held open for Serenity.

The girl blinked. She almost took a step back, but forced herself not to.

"You're welcome," Angelus whispered in her ear. Serenity's eyes flicked around the room, taking in the flashing strobe lights, people with their bodies pressed tightly together, and the sheets hanging from the ceiling, different images being projected onto them in a cycle. A pair of painted red lips, a dead pidgin, a broken bottle. "What's the gift?" Serenity asked. The music was a loud mix of screeching electronics, fast paced and so loud, it was obvious you were meant to hear nothing else. Off to the side, someone was slumped in the corner, clearly unconscious. The air was thick. She could already feel beads of sweat forming on her brow line.

Angelus wrapped one arm around her middle and with the other, held something in front of her. Serenity blinked. When her eyes came in focus, she saw him holding a round emerald pill. "The gift, my dear," he said silkily, "of forgetting."

It was not the next day, or even the day after that when Serenity finally woke, her head oddly clear. She lay motionless for a few moments, an odd, almost serene calm about her. She didn't know where she was. It didn't bother her.

Finally, the brunette pushed herself up. The room did not tilt or spin as she'd half expected it to. Her head did not pound. She felt… normal. Or at least, close to it.

Serenity's brown eyes flicked around the room. It was neat, but a bit bare, obviously not lived in.

Serenity shifted, swinging her legs around so that they dangled off of the queen-sized bed until, softly, she pressed the balls of her feet against the cool, wooden floor. Smiling to herself, the brunette stood up and crossed the room. Hanging on the door was a black, velvet robe, conveniently left for her. Or maybe not. She'd take it anyway. The girl didn't know who owned the crème colored silk slip she wore underneath it, but she decided it suited her.

She turned the small, brass doorknob and pushed her way into a bright hallway. She started to make her way down it, but paused. She could hear the faint clicks of a computer keyboard. She followed the familiar sound down another hallway until she could hear both sounds of a computer in use and a faint muttering behind one of the white doorways.

"- No. I've already checked in on that. Well then why-" Angelus turned. He gave Serenity smirk and a once over and then turned back around. For some reason, his smirk no longer bothered her. The brunette lowered herself into the only chair in the room. She started fiddling with a stack of papers on the boy's desk, now turned away from him.

After a few moments she propped her feet on the edge of the chair. Slowly, she turned to face the blonde. She'd felt his olive green eyes watching her, as in fact, they still were. His expression was unreadable. After another few seconds, he turned back to the phone, but not before his eyes had flashed over her, narrowed in just the slightest bit. For some reason, this made Serenity's pulse quicken. And though it was barely a change, this tiny bit of emotion seemed somehow to make her perfect calamity shake. Serenity paused. She wasn't sure if she wanted to make that happen again or not.

Her eyes glanced around the office. It was small and black, but sleek and quite modern. In fact, if it weren't for the over all dark colors and shiny chrome metal, what Serenity saw next may not have stood out in the slightest. But, as Serenity's eyes settled on the stack of multicolored disks in the corner of the room, she felt her serene world take another violent shake, as if a mirage was crumbling. She'd seen those before…

She turned to where Angelus stood, mumbling replies into the receiver, but his eyes were fixed solidly on her, his expression harsh, almost threatening.

It was that which made Serenity remember. Not the disks in the corner, but the controlling threatening look in the blonde's eyes. She'd seen it before. But at the time, she hadn't been on the receiving end.

_Serenity suddenly felt a thud on the back of her chair and a voice say, "Oh, sorry." She turned around to see Bex standing behind her, and the contents of Serenity's purse scattered across the floor. Bex immediately bent down and started scooping the stuff up. _

"_Here, I'll help." Serenity offered._

"_No, really, it's fine." Bex said. She quickly gathered the rest of the things, threw them in Serenity's bag, but before Serenity could get another word out to her friend, she had left. _

But it had been so long ago, months and months before. Surely, by now… after all this time…

"So," Serenity said, her voice as smooth as she could make it, "how do you do it? Control Bex as you do?"

Angelus did not seem surprised or taken aback in the least. "I got the idea from your little friend originally. I kept her the same way she kept him."  
Serenity started at him. She didn't understand until, with a slight smirk, he pulled a leather box down from a shelf and handed to Serenity. "Ah," Serenity nodded. It made sense now, she thought, staring almost idly at the syringe and spoon the box contained. He'd kept Bex safe in the palm of his hand the same way Murphy and Kaiba had kept each other. Addiction.

"I don't work alone, obviously," he continued. "Bex's father's company had been planning to mere with Dail Tech- you've heard on them, of course- for years now." Serenity had heard of them. They were Kaiba Corporation's biggest competitors. "The original plan was basically to have Bex do what you've done for me. Her methods would have been different, well," a sneer formed on his face, "a _bit _different, but she would have done her part and seduced Kaiba as well. It would have taken less time, but Bex was hesitant. Despite what she says, I do think she's a bit afraid of your curly haired pal, or maybe, deep down, the girl feels like she'd damaged your little lover enough in the past. Whichever the case, when you came along, naïve and so conveniently in need of work, Bex jumped on the opportunity before even consulting me. A mistake, of course, but she was punished."

Serenity felt a faint chill run down her spine, but she kept her face straight. "So her parents approve then? You keep Bex going down the H Train- withhold her fix until she does what you say-"

"What I do works," Angelus cut in quickly, his voice with a definite edge, "so they don't ask too many questions."

"I see," Serenity said softly. Her heart thumped loudly against her skin, she was almost sure he could hear it. The girl felt like she was in a monster's den, and worse, that she'd willingly entered.

"I have a way with her, though," he mused, leaning against the wall. "It's quite easy. She needs me for what I supply her with, oh yes, but she wants me as well. It seems the former princess has never been jerked around like a pathetic middle school. She craves that jus as much," he laughed, though it wasn't at all pleasant. "All you have to be is nice enough, after all, and thy think you mean it, that you're just doing your job." He paused, then said, "It almost gets boring, how easy teenage girls are to toy with." It was almost not a surprise to Serenity. She'd seen how he'd treated Bex. Angelus was controlling and manipulative, almost to the point of making it an art. He'd lured Bex into getting what he needed with addiction and false affection. It was so similar to that of Seto's darker nature, and yet so different. Unlike the boy standing across from her, Seto was good. He tried to hide it with his cold, arrogant grandeur, but Seto, Serenity knew now more than ever, could hardly be a true villain if he tried. He'd never do to anyone what Angelus was doing to Bex. Her life, once so promising, now possibly ruined.

"And of course," Angelus grinned, his voice veering on mocking, "I've had your help as well."

Serenity felt her spine stiffen. "Oh?" she asked, trying her best to keep her voice regulated, "and how's that?"

"Well," he said in the same, disgusting tone, "while you were so worried about causing your old schools pal's death, and your faux-parents splitting up, and being oh-so-confused as to how your lovely boss _really _feels about you-"

"So you have been stalking me," Serenity hissed, and Angelus's lips curled at the corners.

"Yes, love, I've done my investigating quite well," he replied, "quite well indeed."

Serenity felt her lips curl into a snarl. She felt hatred bubble inside her with a passion she'd never before felt. She still clutched the leather box in her hands, her knuckles white from squeezing. "You won't be able to do this," she told him, "Seto will-"

Angelus let out a barking laugh. "You haven't let me finish dear." He stared at her with a toothy grin that almost distorted his usually handsome face. "I already have. And, as I was saying, I couldn't have done it. Not without you."

Serenity stared at him, her mouth agape. She hadn't done anything to help him! She wouldn't- _couldn't _go against Seto like that.

"You see, during the wonderful little eight day binge I provided you with, you were more than willing to hand over quite a few useful things. It seems you are- sorry, _were_ a rather trusted Kaiba Corp. employee. Yes, all sorts of handy little passwords and access codes you were able to hand over, and all you needed was some gentle persuasion."

Serenity felt her heart drop to her stomach. "T-that's impossible!"

"Oh, I'm afraid not. In addition, of course, was your recognition form." Serenity stared at him in horror. "Why was that even necessary?" she demanded.

"You resining?" he asked, with a hint surprise. "You're a smart girl, Serenity, I thought it would be obvious." When Serenity didn't respond, he said, "That, of course, was the first thing I did, the very first night I had you. To those who don't know better, it looks as if you've skipped town. And why wouldn't you?"

The girl's stomach took another drop. And after she'd convinced Seto to stay…

It was not but a moment later that another, terrible, awful thought formed in Serenity's head. She'd apparently given up every bit of Kaiba Corp. information she had. She'd resigned. There was no chance of her going back to Kaiba Corp to get more information. Everyone thought she'd left town. That she'd disappeared.

To Angelus, and the rest of Dail Tech, she was of no use, in fact, she was a liability.

Serenity's heart was beating so fast it felt as though it might escape her chest. There was no reason to keep her around anymore. Her eyes flicked to the door. This was not lost on Angelus.

"I'm not armed, Serenity," he said softly, but not kindly. Serenity didn't trust him. She knew better. "You honestly think I would, right here in my own-"

Hardly thinking about what she was doing, Serenity thrust the box as hard as she could at the boy's face, successfully hitting his eye with its corner. With a yelp, Angelus jumped aside.

Knowing this was her only chance, Serenity was already out of her chair and was was pushing past the boy with all her might.

She ran down the corridor the opposite direction of which she'd come. She didn't know how big the place was, or who else may be living there, but it didn't matter. She'd keep running until she found an exit.

"DAMMIT SERENITY!" She heard a door slam.

Feeling her heart skip a beat, Serenity sped up.

The place seemed like endless hallways. Whenever Serenity turned a corner there seemed to be another. The faint sound of footsteps not too far off could be heard at all times. Though he wasn't getting any closer, he certainly wasn't getting any further away.

Finally, Serenity skidded to a stop. Panting, and a stitch in her side, she stared outside the wide window. She didn't know if she could, but she'd have to try. As quick as she could, Serenity wrenched the window open. She shut it softly behind her, now standing on the fire escape. Fear clutched her stomach. They were definitely on the top floor of the building.

The wind chilled Serenity's pale skin, and the flaps of the velvet robe whipped behind her. Ignoring these things, Serenity stared to climb down. Her feet were bare, and the metal so cold it almost burned, but the girl kept going. She half wanted to shut her eyes, but she didn't. Angelus, so far, hadn't come after her. Was he waiting for her around the corner though? It seemed impossible he hadn't figured out her method of escape, but from what she could tell, he hadn't even stepped out to check. She kept her head up, craning her neck for signs of the boy, but still, there was nothing.

When, at last, the girl reached the bottom, the girl didn't hesitate. She took off as fast as she could, half expecting someone to reach out and grab her as she did so, but no one did. In fact, no one seemed to notice the bare legged brunette as she sprinted down the sidewalk, her feet red from both cold and the soreness of slapping repeatedly against the sidewalk.

What, she thought as she ran, was in her system at that very moment? What had he given her? Surely, she thought in a panic, she would notice if something had been injected in her- something truly awful. She'd still be feeling it now, wouldn't she? She'd want it. But she'd willing taken the first thing he'd offered her. Serenity felt like smacking herself. She didn't care how distressed she'd been, that was stupid, stupid, _stupid. _What had she been expecting to happen? Why did she call him in the first place? She'd wanted to escape. Instead, she'd only sunken herself further.

Serenity finally let herself slow down. She needed to get to Kaiba Corp, to warn Seto. Maybe if she got there soon enough, Angelus and Dail Tech wouldn't have time to make their move. She could tell Seto everything. He could stop it. Of course he could! He was Seto Fucking Kaiba- he- he-

Serenity stopped dead in her tracks. She was in the heart of Domino's business district. Large men in dark suits bustled about her, knocking into her as if she wasn't there, briefcases kept firmly at their sides, the secrets they contained safely hidden.

Serenity felt tears well into here eyes. Taxis honked on the road beside her, there was construction going on not but a few feet away. The roar of the city was all she could hear. The large megatons surrounding her, however, showed all she needed to know. Dail Tech was releasing a line of laptops, the fastest and most-advanced yet, along with six new games, and a virtual reality console. She'd heard rumors around Kaiba Corp about all of these. Dail Tech's stocks were rising. Kaiba Corp's were falling. Serenity choked back a sob. She was too late.


End file.
